Economically disadvantaged children are more likely to experience poor cognitive, health, and behavioural outcomes than other children. The mechanisms for these associations are not fully understood, hindering policy initiatives aimed at closing the gaps. One hypothesis is that children experiencing financial hardship allocate their time differently. Financial hard-ship may cause a substitution away from costly activities toward more affordable, yet potentially less enriching activities, such as watching TV. Moreover, financial hardship is cognitively demanding on parents, which may affect parenting practices and the amount of active time they can spend with their children. In this study, we use seven waves of longitudinal time use diary data on children aged 0–15 to explore how children’s time use changes when their family experiences financial hardship or deprivation. Focusing on four key child health and development time inputs––screen time, physical activity, sleep, and reading––we find that financial hardship is associated with significantly more screen time, particularly passive screen time and screen time at excessive levels. We also find that children’s sleep time is reduced during times of severe hardship. Potential mechanisms for these associations are explored.