Objective: The present study examined the direct and indirect effects of mother's distinct parenting profiles on the development of children's social skills, mediated by the children's effortful control. Methods: Maternal parenting styles were measured by a self-rated questionnaire. Children's effortful control was assessed using behavioral tasks, namely the Red-Green Sign task and the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task. Children's social skills were measured through a teacher-rated questionnaire. Results: Latent profile analyses based on the eleven parenting dimensions demonstrated three distinct parenting profiles: supportive (38.6%), controlling (39.4%), and inconsistent (22.0%). Compared to the inconsistent parenting profile, the supportive and controlling parenting profiles were directly associated with higher levels of children's social skills and indirectly associated through higher level of their effortful control. There was no significant difference between the supportive and controlling parenting profiles. Conclusion: The parenting profiles are linked with children's social skills directly and indirectly through their effortful control. These findings suggest that mothers' parenting practices in early childhood, especially inductive discipline (e.g. reasoning and reminding of rules), are essential factors to enhance children's effortful control and social skills.