This presentation reports research findings which link children's social-emotional skills at ages 4 and 6 to concurrent and antecedent verbal interaction behaviors of their mothers. Forty-five low-income mothers and children who voluntarily participated in the Mother-Child Home Program of the Verbal Interaction Project from 1972 to 1974 were assessed by home visitors who modeled interactive skills in home play sessions centered around gifts and toys and books. Mothers were rated on behaviors related to verbal interaction, nurturance, encouragement of autonomy, and parental controls. Children were rated on task and cognitive orientation, independence, cooperation, and emotional stability. At age 4, children's behavior traits were found to correlate significantly with aspects of their mothers' verbal interactions with them. Almost all child task orientation and cognitive orientation measures were linked to mothers' verbal interactions. The children were later assessed at age 6 among classmates in school settings by teachers who used the behavior rating instrument previously employed. Many correlations between mother's verbal interaction measures obtained when the children were age 4 and measures of the children's behavior at age 6 were found. Three kinds of antecedent verbal interaction had continuing influence: mother responds verbally to child's request, tries to converse with child, and verbalizes reasons for obedience. (Author/RH)