Time is a luxury that not all parents can afford. For many working parents, balancing work, childcare, and household responsibilities means making constant trade-offs at the expense of quality time with children. Researchers refer to this as time poverty—an experience of having too many things to do and not enough time.
For low-income parents, time poverty takes an especially acute form characterized not just by a lack of time, but by inflexibility and unpredictability. Their days are shaped by long hours, unreliable childcare, long commutes, and health appointments. Some parents in the study worked 60–70 hours a week just to get by, leaving them physically drained and with little say over how their remaining time was spent. As one mother put it, “My kids are a full-time job in itself”—and that job often came alongside 60+ hours of paid labor.
Financial insecurity intensifies the strain, requiring parents to devote so much time and energy to work and essential tasks that there is little leftover—whether in hours or mental bandwidth—for meaningful family time. In the absence of policies like paid family leave or predictable scheduling, parents often must choose between financial stability and being present for their kids.
Through six rounds of in-depth interviews with 117 low-income parents participating in a randomized controlled trial of unconditional cash transfers, we found that the cash didn't just change parents’ budgets, it transformed how many of them structured their time. Our analysis identifies four interrelated mechanisms through which the cash transfer supported parents’ ability to be present with their children: (1) reduced financial stress that freed up cognitive and emotional bandwidth for caregiving; (2) work flexibility that allowed parents to reclaim time and reconfigure routines around caregiving priorities; (3) investments in parental well-being that enhanced emotional availability and responsive parenting; and (4) expenditures on shared experiences that deepened relational bonds.
Gaining Work Flexibility and Reclaiming Caregiving Time
The cash allowed parents to reduce work hours or find jobs that better fit their family's needs, pulling back from exhausting schedules to reclaim time for direct caregiving.
Dana's Story
"Can I say work, work, and work?" Dana laughed when asked what took up most of her time before the cash transfer. As a single mother of two, she juggled multiple jobs— receptionist, shop assistant, Uber driver, house cleaner—often working 70+ hours per week. Like 30% of other parents in the qualitative sample, Dana wished for more quality time with her children but saw no way to reduce work hours without jeopardizing financial stability. "I feel like a goal of mine is being able to spend more time with my kids, but work prevents that."
Over three years, Dana used the transfer to leave unstable jobs, work fewer hours, and pursue a career she loved even though it paid less. "I'm able to spend more time with them and more quality time too. Just enjoy being around them versus always running around before and rarely being home."
Sophia's Experience
Before the cash transfer program began, Sophia was overextended—caring for five kids on her own, going to school, looking for work, and managing remote learning during the pandemic. When job opportunities came up, most were second or third shift roles. "That's my main time with them," she explained. "I only have a short period of time to steer them before they make mistakes." She did not want to take a job that would interfere with the time she considered most formative.
The unconditional cash gave Sophia the flexibility to prioritize caregiving, allowing her to choose a part-time teaching job that aligned with her children's school schedule instead of taking a job that would compromise time with her kids. She later turned down a full-time position when she realized it would mean losing precious time with them. "Working until 10 o'clock at night? I can't do that," she said. "I'm barely getting time with my daughter as it is."
This was not a reflection of valuing work less. It was strategically reclaiming time for what she valued most—time with her children—despite the financial trade-offs.
Nathan's Choice
Nathan, a single father, made a similar call. As soon as he learned he would be receiving the unconditional cash, he cut his work hours and devoted that time to his four-year-old son. "I didn't even get the money yet," he said. "But I saw the time and opportunity." His goal wasn't savings or material gains, it was time with his son.
It was how he passed down values, built trust, and showed up during critical developmental years. Nathan felt his decision had a lasting impact. "My son and me…it's a pretty good relationship my son has with me, and that's real cool," Nathan reflected. "And it's noticed by a lot of other people around me. That's really awesome to me. That's like… the coolest life accomplishment I have."
Though he later reflected on the financial trade-offs—"If I could do it again, holy shit, I'd do it different"—his conviction remained. "I spent it on time. And you know what? That's not horse shit. Like my time's worth everything…I can never get it back."
Reducing Financial Stress and Ensuring Emotional Presence
Constant worry about rent, groceries, and medical bills drains attention, patience, and the ability to be present. The cash helped relieve immediate financial stress, giving parents cognitive bandwidth and emotional energy to focus on their children.
Nikki's ‘Mental Space’
Nikki described the mental load of financial stress: "If you open your browser, and you got like 30 windows open… and one of them is playing music and you don't know which one it is, but it's driving you nuts. Well, it would be like the window that's responsible for financial stress. It's like it's always there." Before the cash, this left her emotionally depleted: "It threatens the foundation of my existence. All of my mental strength just said, 'Goodbye. I'm done here.'"
With the transfer, Nikki invested in therapy for the first time in years. "The payments made my mental space better," she said, describing herself as calmer and less reactive with her children. "I know I've gotten a lot better at parenting. She tells me that she loves me and I love her back. Like it's a very tender, nurturing relationship…this program helped us, helped her because it made me a better mom."
Maisie's New Outlook
Juggling school, work, and three children, Maisie was stretched thin: "By the time I finish all of that stuff, I'm too tired to go out and throw a football, and do the things that boys want to do." With decreased financial stress, she explained: "My mental health being better makes everything better. I'm more present with my kids, and have more energy to do all the things that they wanna do." This wasn't just about having more time—it was about being able to use that time differently.
Like many parents in the study, Nikki and Maisie described how reduced stress led to greater capacity for meaningful engagement with their children. This increased presence deepened connection and transformed their day-to-day interactions. Emotional presence became its own form of investment—one that paid off in deeper relationships and stronger family bonds.
Investing in Shared Experiences
Parents also used the unconditional cash to invest in time-rich experiences with their children. Outings to the park, game nights, road trips, or simply one-on-one meals at nearby restaurants were seen as opportunities to connect, laugh, and make memories. These weren't just leisurely activities, they were emotionally significant investments. The experiences themselves were the goal: a way to show love, build trust, and deepen connection with their children.
Grace's Mother-Daughter Days
Grace, a single mom of three, began rotating monthly "mother-daughter days" with each of her teens. "It makes them feel special, like they matter individually," she said. "Not just as a group." Whether they were going to the zoo or just out to lunch, what mattered most to Grace were these shared experiences together.
Grace explained why they were important to her: "I want to create memories with my children… I don't want them to just grow up and be like, 'I didn't do anything.' I want them to have memories with their mom." She saw these activities as opportunities for emotional connection and open communication: “We talk about what they want to do for the future, all that kind of stuff. Make sure they know that they can come to me no matter what.”
Winnie's Investment in Time
Winnie used the cash to shift from a 60–70 hour workweek to a more predictable job: "This program did create that time," she said. "I would use it with my kids' activities, being involved in their life, doing things with them, getting to enjoy them, getting to see them grow." She made space for everyday moments—art projects, long walks, movie nights—and noticed her kids opening up more. "Just me being involved, being active in their life—I've seen that change."
Winnie also used the funds for family travel, including visits to relatives in other states and purchasing Six Flags passes. She explained, "Getting to know them as individuals…I feel that it shows true love…you spending time with a person, that shows that you really care…you taking time out of your day to have with this person; that's a love expression for me."
Kendra's Quality Time
Another mother, Kendra, felt similarly: "Quality time is the most meaningful," she said. "I find that I get to understand my boys and learn about what’s going on in their lives. . . we connect on a much deeper level when we have those moments of exchange or when we’re actually cooking and learning and experiencing together.”
For all of these parents and others, shared experiences weren't just about entertainment—they were about building trust, memories, and connection.
Investing in Themselves
Some parents discovered that supporting their own well-being was an important indirect investment in their children. By using the cash to prioritize their mental, physical, and emotional health, these parents unlocked the capacity to be present and engaged.
Lisa's Safety
Lisa's relationship had deteriorated into toxicity and control that created chronic stress and fear. When she told her partner she was leaving, "He woke me up and he literally had the gun to my head, and said that he was gonna kill me and my kids if I tried to leave him." The transfer provided financial means to act—securing housing within 24 hours and covering deposits. "I probably would've been still trying to figure out how the heck to get out of that situation, honestly." Once removed from the volatile relationship, Lisa found herself able to focus more on her children: "This last year with it being just me and my kids again, things have been easier...my attention isn't having to be stretched across so many people...I'm able to give them more, direct, one-on-one attention, and really just connect with them more."
Zelda's Mobility
Living with degenerative disc disease, Zelda struggled to participate in her daughters' preferred activities. "I couldn't take them to go to places like that because I couldn't really stand or walk for very long." The transfer enabled her to afford co-pays for steroid injections and medication only partially covered by insurance. "It's been amazing because before, I struggled with back issues and so, the things that they wanted to do were really like exercise-involved...But I'm actually able to afford my medication. So, I've been able to do more things with them 'cause I've been able to be more mobile as well."
A Detailed Case Study: Olivia's Experience
For many parents, these mechanisms overlapped and worked together to support their ability to be present with their children—Olivia’s experience illustrates how multiple pathways can intersect to transform family time. Olivia and her husband were doing everything they could to provide for their four children while balancing work, school closures during COVID, and medical care for two children with complex health needs. The family was living within their means, but just barely. Any unexpected expense—a car repair, a medical bill—could throw everything off balance.
When Olivia began receiving the unconditional cash transfers, the additional income didn't just help her cover bills, it changed how she and her family structured their lives. Over time, she realized the cash wasn't just about financial stability but also about the ability to step back from constant financial pressure and focus on what mattered most.
Gaining Work Flexibility: Olivia worked remotely at an animal clinic, managing her children's care during school closures. Her hours increased from 30 to 40 per week, and despite being physically present, she lacked bandwidth for emotional presence. "Although I'm home, the kids don't really talk to me because they can't cause I'm working."
The juggling act was exhausting: "If I'm trying to work and trying to run back and forth between one [zoom] class for my six-year-old, and another [zoom] class for my four-year-old… It brings up my anxiety level because I don't want to miss something…just because I was trying to pull myself into too many places."
Adding to the pressure, her children's medical needs required frequent appointments and specialized treatments. During the pandemic, siblings couldn't attend appointments, so Olivia's husband often had to take unpaid time off. "The medication infusion takes four hours, and it's an hour drive each way," Olivia explained. "So it does mean my husband has to take the whole unpaid day off." Losing even a few days a month significantly impacted their budget.
Reduced Financial Stress, Improved Presence: With the transfer, Olivia reduced work hours while maintaining nearly the same income. "I gave notice that I needed to cut down my hours because of the extra money that I was getting… That was the first thing I did in order to have a work-life balance."
The financial cushion eased the mental load: "Having that extra money helped us realize like how much of an impact money makes on happiness and anxiety, because I didn't have to deal with as much anxiety and I was able to balance things a little bit more with my family."
Her hope for her children's future captured this transformation: "I want them to know that even though they may have not had the best of everything, we definitely sacrificed everything that we could to make sure that they were happy and that we tried to spend as much quality time and time with them in general, as possible, as opposed to not being there for them."
Shared Experiences: Before the cash, family outings weren't in the budget. "I do have to tell them like, 'No, there's no money' or 'No, we can't do that.'" They purchased a reliable minivan that made travel feasible and began prioritizing experiences: "I was raised kind of to think that money was everything, but I think that they're learning… that experiences are very important in life and that money can come, but that it's important that we have experiences to broaden our life."
Even after the program ended, the shift persisted: "The cash transfer allowed me to not be as stressed about money, and it helped us do little things. Like this summer, we went to go visit the museums in [another state]… We still don't live the big fancy life, but it made making decisions like, 'Oh yeah, can we go to the museum?' 'You know what, yeah, now we can.'"
Research Implications
This study highlights how financial constraints limit not only what low-income parents can afford, but how they spend their time—particularly the kind of emotionally attuned, relational time they view as central to their children’s well-being. Many parents described wanting to be more present, patient, and connected, but found those goals out of reach under conditions of time poverty and economic strain.
For many parents, unconditional cash offered a temporary release from those constraints. With more flexibility and less stress, some parents reclaimed caregiving time, restructured daily routines, and created space for connection and shared experiences. These shifts were not just about time, they were about agency: the ability to parent in line with one’s values.
Key Insights
- Quality of time is a powerful form of parental investment: When given unconditional cash, parents didn't just buy things—they bought presence. And they used that time to care, connect, and be more present with their kids. Parents in this study showed that time, attention, and connection are just as valuable when it comes to raising children.
- What looks like "leisure" is often care work: Things like outings, playtime, and shared meals aren't just fun—they're how parents build trust, emotional security, and lasting bonds. What looks like unstructured time or leisure time can actually be intentional, relational work.
- Low-income parenting is strategic and intentional: Parents in this study made intentional sacrifices—turning down jobs, reducing hours, and giving up income—to prioritize time with their kids. These weren't passive choices; they were deliberate acts of care. It wasn't just about having more time, it was about intentionally using that time to invest in caregiving, emotional presence, and shared experiences.
- Time is fragile: Once the unconditional cash transfer ended, many parents had to return to exhausting schedules or could no longer afford as many shared experiences. The quality and quantity of time with their children they invested in became harder to sustain. Without access to affordable childcare and flexible, stable jobs, the ability to invest time in children remains contingent and precarious.