This study used both quantitative and qualitative data to illuminate structural constraints faced by mothers and their strategies used to manage work and childcare in low-income communities in Hong Kong, China. The data were drawn from a survey (N = 1,429) of mothers living in five communities. From these data, focus was on a subset (N = 764) of data covering two low-income communities,Tin Shui Wai and Sham Shui Po. Eventually a sample of this subset (N =285) also participated in individual in-depth interviews. Results illustrate differences between mothers in their 30s and 40s in the decision on managing dual pressures of childcare and limited income. Accordingly, younger mothers were fully concerned with childcare, as their children were younger. As such, they put the idea of employment aside even though they faced financial hardship. In contrast, the older mothers suffered more from work-family conflict, as they more likely engaged in employment. Easing younger mothers’ childcare and older mothers’work-family interplay is therefore a reasonable concern for public support for the mothers.