And why not just create an entity?
Migration:
    Schema::create('categories', function($table)
    {
        $table->increments('id');
        $table->integer('parent_id')->nullable();
        $table->string('name');
        $table->boolean('inactive')->default(0);
        $table->timestamps();
        $table->engine = 'InnoDB';
    });
Relationships:
/**
 * Define an inverse one-to-one or many relationship.
 *
 * @return \Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Relations\BelongsTo
 */
public function parent()
{
    return $this->belongsTo('Category', 'parent_id');
}
/**
 * Define a one-to-many relationship.
 *
 * @return \Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Relations\HasMany
 */
public function children()
{
    return $this->hasMany('Category', 'parent_id');
}
To create and assign:
    $parent = new Category;
    $parent->name = 'Parent';
    $parent->save();
    $child = new Category(['name' = 'Child']);
    $parent->children()->save($child);
Makes it simpler!