Two brothers lived side by side in houses built on land gifted by their father. Both were employed — the elder brother was a teacher, and the younger worked at a private company.

One day, the elder brother brought some saplings from the market and planted them in front of his house. Every day, he spent time caring for the plants and watering them properly. Seeing this, the younger brother also developed an interest in gardening. He, too, brought some saplings from the market and planted them in front of his house. He wanted his garden to be even more beautiful than his elder brother’s. So he took extra care of his plants and watered them more than necessary.

As a result of the excessive care, the younger brother’s plants soon grew taller, greener, and more vibrant than his elder brother’s. Seeing this, the younger brother mockingly said to the elder,

One night, a strong storm struck. In the morning, the younger brother saw that all his plants had been uprooted and were lying in disarray. To his surprise, his elder brother’s plants were standing just as they had been, untouched. Shocked, he ran to his elder brother to find out the reason behind it.

The elder brother said,

**“Everything has a natural limit — too much of anything is never good. You gave your plants so much water that they never needed to develop roots to find water. That’s why they never spread their roots into the soil. On the other hand, I never gave mine more than they needed. So they grew roots underground to meet their own needs. As a result, their foundations became strong.”**

After hearing this, the younger brother realized his mistake and felt deeply regretful.

**Our children are just like these saplings.** They need care — but not overprotection. We must raise them in a way that they become self-reliant. If everything is handed to them too easily, they never learn to be independent — and even the smallest storm in life can make them fall, just like the younger brother’s saplings