Teaching vs. Punishment

So I was reading in Alma 31 the other day and I came across the scripture about how the preaching of the word of God has a greater power than does the sword and it struck me that it could be the same with parenting. If we teach our children the principles of the gospel, it will have a much greater effect than trying to teach our kids by punishing them. (Especially with physical punishment) Just a thought I had.