This qualitative study aimed to describe how children, victims of domestic violence, perceived the care they received in a family-type shelter. The study was developed in two institutions in southern Brazil that housed children and adolescents who suffered domestic violence. Four children, between the ages of 8 and 11, were studied in June and July of 2008. The creative and sensitive methodology (Método Criativo e Sensível), more precisely, applying the dynamics of creativity and sensitivity: Playing Act (Brincar em Cena) and Body Knowledge (Corpo Saber), was used for the production of data. The data was analyzed using the French stream of discourse analysis. The meaning that these children attributed to care was divided into two sub-themes, namely, the feeling of love and affection they felt for the family taking care of them, and how they associated the practice of basic personal hygiene as a means of concern for them. We recommend preventive work that should be carried out with the families, focusing on actions that promote closeness in order to strengthen the bond between mother and child, and the relationships within the family.
Domestic violence; Pediatric nursing; Child abuse; Child care
