I think you communicated quite clearly. My dad once told me that his father told him what to do (and what to be when he grew up), so he was telling me, and if i wanted to be able to choose, i had to have my own kid to boss around. Very cleverly i told him, oh no dad, the buck stops here! Its kinda like a Ponzi scheme, or multi level marketing.

I think the way to look at it is, adults take responsibility for their decisions. You reap what you sow.

But legally, no you cant buy or own another person. You can make it psychologically difficult for them to leave, which is that that book is about.