Top Tips for Helping Your Child with Maths

Maths is an undeniably challenging subject for some children, even though it comes naturally to others. Of course, their teachers will do every they can to help their students develop numeracy skills, but there are also things that parents can do at home to help ensure their child is comfortable with numbers and basic sums. Read on for some helpful tips from an independent day school in London.

Incorporate Maths Into Everyday Life

Try and find opportunities for your child to practise simple maths each and every day. For instance, learning to tell the time accurately, perhaps with the help of a site like 1700 military time, could be the perfect place to begin. You could then encourage them to help you in the kitchen so that they can become familiar with units of measurement and oven times. And then, to mix things up but stay within the realm of food and cooking, next time you’re buying groceries, ask your child to calculate how much you will have to pay when you get to the till. There are even lots of board games that require numeracy skills, such as Monopoly, which will help your child practise in a fun and entertaining manner. For younger children who aren’t yet competent at sums, nursery rhymes that involve counting are a great option. You should also play with different shapes and ask them to talk to you about how many corners or faces the shape has.

Encourage a Positive Approach to Maths

It’s important that you refrain from saying things like “I was rubbish at maths at your age” because your child will feed off of your negative attitude. Instead, say things like “I struggled with maths a bit too but with lots of practise I started to improve”. The idea is to try and encourage a growth mindset and optimistic attitude. Praise your child when you notice that they are trying hard to complete their maths homework and remind them that they are more than capable as long as they don’t give up.

Speak to Your Child’s Maths Teacher

By having a conversation with your child’s maths teacher, you should be able to understand what is actually expected of them for their age. You can’t know for sure whether or not they are struggling with maths if you don’t know what they should and shouldn’t be able to do. What’s more, your child’s teachers might be able to suggest some learning resources, such as online games or activity books, that can help them practise the skills they are developing in lessons. Generally speaking, its usually wise to maintain regular communication with your child’s teachers so you can work together to help them reach their full potential.

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