Children establish and maintain numerous relationships from an early age. Apart from the relationship with the family, nowadays, a large number of children form their relationships with educators during kindergarten attendance. The importance of a quality teacher-child relationship is confirmed by the results of many researches, including this research. More specifically, the aim of this paper is to examine the connection between the quality of teacher-child relationships and indicators of children's social-emotional development in children at the age of three years until starting school.. In order to fulfill the goal, 10 educators evaluated their own relationships and behavior of 210 children in four kindergartens in Slavonski Brod. The sample consisted of 116 boys and 94 girls ranging in age from 36 to 91 months, with the average age of the children being 68 months. For the purposes of conducting the research, the following were used: Questionnaire of sociodemographic data, Short form of the student-teacher relationship scale and Questionnaire of strengths and difficulties. The research shows the necessity of a close relationship, that is, the limitation of the conflict relationship between the teacher and the child. In addition, the presence and influence of both of these relationships on children's behavior, as well as their mutual connection, are shown. The results reveal the positive influence of a close relationship, or negative influence of a conflicting teacher-child relationship on the child's social-emotional development. The results prove the connection of these relationships with certain indicators of social and emotional development, as well as their influence on it. This alone reveals the great importance of a quality teacher-child relationship for the child's development as a whole, and especially the strong influence of the same relationship on the child's behavior.