7 strategies to help defeat children’s fear of maths

‘People used to think that only some children have the ability to be good at maths. Despite the fact that theory’s been knocked down by research, many teachers still believe it – and it filters through to pupils,’ says Jo. ‘No wonder that many kids both fear maths and don’t want to engage with the subject.’

When children think they’re going to fail at something, they usually don’t try. But recent research shows that the human brain actually grows most when you make a mistake in maths. Says Jo: ‘It’s ironic, because children feel terrible if they get something wrong in maths. But parents need to reassure kids that it’s not only good to make mistakes, but when you struggle at maths it means your brain’s developing.’

Estimates aren’t right or wrong, so using estimation can be very confidence building – as well as a useful life skill to have. ‘A good question to ask is, “Do you think the answer you’ve just got is bigger or smaller than the proper answer?” as it encourages children to think about the values of the numbers in their maths problem,’ says Steve.

In maths, the ability to play around with numbers is vital for mental arithmetic as well as real-life. It’s good to encourage children to play with numbers on paper, or with big counters in front of them. Having visual images is crucial as it reinforces the concepts in their heads. ‘There are some great simple games with dice,’ says Jo. ‘Try rolling five dice and challenging your child to make a number, 20 for example, out of the dice.’

If your child finds learning times tables almost impossible – or just really dull, a computer or smart phones can be a handy rote learning tool. Steve recommends a powerful technique called “self-voice echo”: ‘Type three facts from a times table onto the screen (for example, 5 x 8s are 40), then help your child record himself or herself reading it through in their own voice. Using headphones, they can listen to the audio over and over, while reading it aloud.’ This technique work best in short bursts of up to 10 minutes a day.

Many parents are scared of maths – particularly mums (more women than men have had bad experiences of the subject in the past). ‘Research shows that as soon as mothers comfort their daughters by saying they weren’t good at maths at school themselves, their daughter’s achievement goes down in that same term,’ says Jo. ‘So always try to greet maths homework with excitement – even if you have to use all your acting skills.’

Whether you're looking for details of what your child will learn in maths in primary school year by year, teachers' tricks to help with new mathematical concepts or everyday games to play to make maths fun, TheSchoolRun has loads of information and practical resources to help.

Look through the articles on our Maths homepage, read about today's primary-school maths terminology in our numeracy glossary, download some worksheets or choose an explanatory eBook in our Shop to help you.