Given the empirical links between familial characteristics and children's academic performance, this study examined associations between stress, relationship quality, and young children's school readiness (i.e., academic, psychosocial, and socioemotional characteristics) for economically impoverished Black families (N = 127). Parents reported low levels of financial stress, which were unrelated to children's school readiness. Parents' general stress levels were significantly related to both parent and teacher reports of children's psychosocial problems, however, the direction of effect differed (e.g., positive versus negative, respectively). Additionally, parents' report of parent-child relationship had significant bearing on children's psychosocial and socioemotional readiness. Findings highlight the importance of parent-child relationships in impoverished Black children's behavioral functioning at school entry and indicate solutions through school and familial collaboration.