The Tribune

A top executive is linking banking principles to parenting in an investment message that is taking hold like a song you cannot get out of your head.

The best return on investment, says Mavis Burrows, Commonwealth Bank’s vice-president of operations, may surprise you – it may not be gold or shares, or even real estate. It could instead be the time you spend with your children and their education.

“I am not discouraging anyone from investing in real estate, entrepreneurial endeavors, or shares of Bahamian companies, but the message I want to spread is that the very best investment any parent can make is an investment in their child,” said Mrs Burrows.

Applying the principles of banking and returns on investment to the act of parenting would reap benefits that extend well beyond any fiscal year’s reporting, said Mrs Burrows.

“Think of your son or daughter, or the children you are looking after, as your principal, your primary investment. If you lend yourself to them by paying attention to their activities at school, by helping them with reading or a science project or a challenging math problem, you are lending the best thing you can possibly provide – your time and attention. And in turn, they will give you the best return on investment you can ask for,” she said.

“That return could be the child who decides to stay in school instead of giving up. That return on investment could be the next scientist or researcher who helps to discover a cure for diabetes or cancer or Parkinson’s.”

Her words reinforced the call for increased parental involvement in schools by educators at every level, but go a step further.

“We know that when parents are actively involved in their children’s education, those students do better,” said Mrs. Burrows. “But to state that fact and not explore more deeply does it a disservice. So what I want to suggest is that we look at parental involvement in banking terms, we think of it as lending – lend time, lend attention, lend a sincere ear.

“Listen to what your child says and what he or she is not saying. The investment you make, that extra half hour a day reading with them when they are young, or the hour spent working on a science project or helping them research something, can bring untold returns not just while they are in school.”

Mrs Burrows says the long-term return is most important. “You are not just helping to create a better student. You are helping to mold a better human being. Think of the time you are investing and the attention you are showing as building a savings account that continues to grow and you can never deplete,” she added.

Mrs Burrows first introduced the concept of linking banking principles to parenting during the Commonwealth Bank sponsored back-to-school parenting forum, at which she was a featured speaker along with the minister of national security, Dr Bernard Nottage, the minister of social services, Melanie Griffin, and high-ranking members of the Ministry of Education.

The bank has sponsored the forum along with education officials for the past five years as part of its ongoing commitment to education.

“We are calling upon our parents,” Mrs Burrows said, “asking you, urging you to lend yourselves to your children, lend the best that you have to give because the return on investment – a compassionate, cared for, educated child – is the best investment you can ever make.”