Early research in parenting and child development found that parents who provide their children with proper nurture, independence and firm control, have children who appear to have higher levels of competence and are socially skilled and proficient. Showing love and nurturing children with caring and affection encourages positive and physical and mental progress in children. Additional developmental skills result from positive parenting styles including: maintaining a close relationship with others, being self-reliant, and independence. During the mid 1980s, researchers began to explore how specific parenting styles influence a child's later development.