Of course. They cannot do much in life easily without being comfortable with numeracy skills, whether now or in the future. The world has changed and has become so much more demanding and more competitive. We have to hand them something to compete with. Maths is perfect as it not only boosts their self-confidence, it’s also the very thing that easily makes children lose their overall self-confidence when they feel they are not good at it. It could affect other parts of their life, too. So it’s important that in addition to other great skills, we make sure that children should not have to go through all this Maths worry that I see too often. It makes me sad that any child has to go through this because the fundamental Maths they need is actually easy. All that’s needed to be understood are the principles, and then hey presto …deal done and problem solved! You see, Maths is simply a skill – that’s all; and any skill takes practice. I want you to know that your child can be good at Maths. Even you can be too if you want to!
If you have been worrying, I want you to know that your child will be ok. Stop worrying and put your mind at rest. You, however, need to make a decision to try to help.
I want you to understand that this problem is fixable, and that your lovely child will do just fine. I know you want the best for your children, and have great hopes and aspirations for them for success in their adult life. You are right to be here now – these are the steps we parents take that sort these things out.
You see, “getting Maths” at a young enough age built my confidence a great deal and sent me onto Cloud 9! Just by my parents ensuring that I “got” Maths early, they pretty much sorted me out for life. Having those fundamental skills of Maths made me believe I could do anything in life. From going on to win Maths prizes for my whole year out of a couple hundred students or more each time, to being chosen to represent the school in Maths competitions, to studying BSc Computing with a lot of extra voluntarily-elected Maths units than necessary and finishing with First Class Honours, to working in five different Investment Banks for years, to obtaining an MSc in Financial Markets, to going on to win awards, helping to teach children Maths in creative ways, to running a whole dealership and learning the toughest types of direct sales skills out there. Belief is a great virtue to have throughout life. If you or your child do not believe you can do something or get something, you will not get anywhere with it; and this principle applies to anything in life. You must help your child to gain belief that he or she can do well and excel at Maths, and at anything in life really. Maths is a great skill to use to build this foundation for your child and, what’s more, it’s compulsory anyway. Why not make the experience an enjoyable, pain-free one?
The best thing is that you want to get this right for your child and I applaud your commitment. Well done. Your being here shows you are looking for practical ways to help your child in Maths and support them. That’s great. The problem is half-solved, just by you taking steps to try to do something about it. When you begin to find ways to solve a particular problem, you will begin to find signposts leading there. Well done. What I see many parents are doing is trying to fix problems with their children’s Maths abilities on their own. They are doing everything they can, in the way they know how. Always try to get help and more support if you feel you need it.
