Objective: The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of preservice early childhood teachers regarding the relationship between teachers and parents. Methods: The subjects of this study were 139 preservice early childhood teachers attending university in G city, and a ques tionnaire using metaphors was used. The collected data were analyzed according to the meta phor analysis procedure of Gök and Erdoğan(2010). Results: The three higher-level categories were ‘purpose and necessity of the relationship’, ‘characteristics and emotionality of the relation ship’, and ‘elements for the relationship’. The subcategories were ‘mutual complementation’, ‘lords and peasants’, ‘uncomfortable relationship’, ‘two-sided relationship’, ‘mutual coopera tion’, ‘communication’, ‘trust’, ‘maintaining balance’, and ‘mutual patience and effort’ were iden tified as 12 items. Conclusions: It can be used as basic data for developing training courses and programs for preservice early childhood teachers to improve relationships between parents and teachers.