The Impact of Unconditional Cash on Parenting Behaviors Among 4‐Year‐Old Children From Families With Low Incomes in the US

ABSTRACT Objective This study examines the impacts of a monthly unconditional cash transfer on parenting behaviors among low‐income mothers of four‐year‐olds. Background Prior research has demonstrated that low income is negatively associated with the quality of parenting and the amount of time mothers spend engaging in enriching activities with their children. Yet, whether unconditional cash transfers to families with low incomes will improve these dimensions of parenting is unclear. Method Families in this study are participants in the Baby's First Years (BFY) study, an RCT in which mothers received either a monthly high‐cash gift ($333) or a monthly low‐cash gift ($20) for the first 76 months of their child's life. Analyses include intent‐to‐treat (ITT) estimates of the cash gift on pre‐registered parenting outcomes measured when the focal child was 4 years old, including observed quality of parent–child interactions during a video play task, maternal reports of child meal and sleep routines, time spent on mother–child activities, money spent on child‐specific goods ( = 886 mothers). Results Pre‐registered measures of parenting outcomes did not differ between mothers receiving the high‐cash gift and mothers receiving the low‐cash gift. Exploratory analyses showed that children of mothers who received the high‐cash gift were more likely to have regular sleep routines, to have spent more money on toys, and less money on electronics than children of mothers receiving the low‐cash gift. Conclusion A moderate, monthly unconditional cash transfer alone may be insufficient to make sustained and meaningful improvements in mothers' time spent in enriching activities, child‐specific expenditures, or in the quality of mother–child interactions with four‐year‐olds in families with low income.