Washington : A new study has found that parents who want to discipline their child must talk to them with positivity.

The researchers at the Michigan State University found that 23 per cent of youngsters received some type of "negative touch" when they did not comply with parents wishes in public places.

"If your child is upset and not minding you and you want to discipline them, I would use a positive, gentle touch," psychologist Kathy Stansbury said, adding "Our data found that negative touch didn't work."

Researchers anonymously observed 106 discipline interactions between caregivers and children ages 3-5 in public places and recorded the results.

Stansbury said another surprising finding was that male caregivers touched the children more during discipline settings than female caregivers – and the majority of the time it was in a positive manner.

The old belief that stereotyped the father as a the one who sets the laws and is a disciplinarian, was contradicted in the study.

"When we think of Dad, we think of him being the disciplinarian, and Mom as nurturer, but that's just not what we saw," Stansbury said, adding "I do think that we are shifting as a society and fathers are becoming more involved in the daily mechanics of raising kids, and that's a good thing for the kids and also a good thing for the dads."

Positive touch caused the children to comply more often and quickly and with less fussing than negative touch, or physical punishment, the study said.

When negative touch was used, even when children complied, they often pouted or sulked afterwards.

The findings were published in the current issue of the research journal Behavior and Social Issues.