Comparisons of mother-child interaction patterns exhibited during free-play sessions were made between 8 mother-mentally retarded child dyads and 8 mother-nonretarded child dyads. Mothers'' perceptions of randomly selected interactions were examined. Children were matched for cognitive level on the basis of play behavior. The mean age of the retarded children was 46.5 mo. and of the nonretarded children, 27.2 mo. Mothers of retarded children dominated the play sessions more than did the comparison mothers. They perceived themselves as trying to change their children''s behavior more than did the comparison mothers. The retarded children responded less frequently to their mothers'' initiations than did the nonretarded children and they initiated < 1/2 as many interactions. Findings were discussed within the framework of symbolic interaction theory and suggestions for future research were outlined.