“Around one third of children aged four to six years old say they feel anxious about their maths ability.” – British Psychological Society.
Maths anxiety is rife. With the advent of COVID-19 and children having lost out on months of learning, this is something we as parents and teachers have to work together to combat.
There are key ways to reduce maths anxiety and avoid them, and teach parents how to help their children do maths with ease, love maths, improve their number skills, be happy at school, build more self-confidence and increase life options for a successful future.
For a child to love maths and be motivated to want to do maths, we have to combat these key problems and issues that parents in Britain are facing with their kids’ maths learning and homework. These problems stem from:
- Maths anxiety and dislike of maths. Too many children are terrified of maths, see maths as boring and experience maths anxiety.
- Many children don’t see the point in doing it. More often than not, Maths is seen as a rigid set of rules, and not taught how it applies to real life.
- Many children don’t believe they can get good at maths and many start getting turned off from around age 7-8 years.
- Many children do not have truly effective, fun, creative ways to practice maths at home.
- Lots of parents are afraid of maths themselves and don’t know how to help their children. They make the mistake of condoning their child’s hatred of maths or unwillingness to do maths, without realising it.
One of the biggest frustrations that parents have with supporting their child’s maths learning is also lack of time. I also find that parents complain a lot about children’s lack of discipline to sit down to do multiple problems or homework.
Is it the child’s responsibility to be disciplined enough of their own accord and motivated enough of their accord to do their maths work? I say no. We have to help them and support them.
I also find that parents blame the teachers and teachers blame the parents. It’s the unending circle. Is it the teachers’ fault? We parents have a big role to play in it as well. We have the bigger role to play in helping motivate them and establishing a routine that works – one that will make our children feel good and happy about maths.
I find that a key shortcut to solving these problems is using effective and truly fun maths games that have deep play value, to help children learn maths without feeling or remembering that they are actually learning. As far as children are concerned, they are playing socially when this approach is used. This easy approach done on purpose and with structure, does wonders and works like magic, and spreads to their attitude to learning maths in school.
Low self-esteem and low self-confidence can be avoided from the knock-on effect from not being comfortable with maths. We will create more brilliant options for career and life success when children become adults, if we support them to get good enough maths skills now.
With games as a parent, you never have to worry about not knowing the right methods. Let’s work together to combat mathematical anxiety in children.
