Bringing up a family and making ends meet: before and during the COVID-19 crisis

This chapter looks longitudinally at the role of the financial circumstances of families with children who were on low incomes before COVID-19, and the influence this had on their experiences during the pandemic. We draw on data from a qualitative longitudinal study comprising three waves of interviews completed between 2015 and early 2020, with follow-up interviews carried out in September and October 2020. Presenting key findings from the research and two comparative case studies for discussion, the chapter highlights the way that factors including work (in)security and income stability, support networks, and physical and mental health intersected to shape the extent to which families managed to make ends meet both before and during the pandemic when faced with additional challenges and costs. Taking account of multiple stressors and how they can pile up illustrates the range of issues across policy areas that face families on low incomes.