Hablar, no golpear: razonamiento infantil sobre disciplina parental

This research included interviews with fifteen girls and fifteen boys ages ten and eleven, regarding a hypothetical story that contains moral transgression—bothering a sibling—and two types of sanctions applied in a simultaneous manner: hitting and scolding. The children were asked about their opinions and the reason for the event in the story. The analysis was carried out with an inductive method by constructing categories based on data. The results refer to the disapproval of physical harm, which is considered inappropriate and ineffective, although the children believe the transgressor should receive a sanction. Disciplinary techniques that involve dialogue as a means of sanctioning moral transgressions are proposed and accepted, and the function of the sanction as corrective and preventive is evaluated.