“Daddy, do you own me?”

I may as well post more of my favorites. So here is another. This example points out what a great amount of patience it takes to work with children especially if they need to do something but don't want to.

Elder Russell M. Nelson. Ensign, April 1991, Listen to Learn

A wise father once said, “I do a greater amount of good when I listen to my children than when I talk to them.” 

When our youngest daughter was about four years of age, I came home from hospital duties quite late one evening. I found my dear wife to be very weary. I don’t know why. She only had nine children underfoot all day. So I offered to get our four-year-old ready for bed. I began to give the orders: “Take off your clothes; hang them up; put on your pajamas; brush your teeth; say your prayers” and so on, commanding in a manner befitting a tough sergeant in the army. Suddenly she cocked her head to one side, looked at me with a wistful eye, and said, “Daddy, do you own me?”

She taught me an important lesson. I was using coercive methods on this sweet soul. To rule children by force is the technique of Satan, not of the Savior. No, we don’t own our children. Our parental privilege is to love them, to lead them, and to let them go.