How to help your child love math
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There are times when interest in school math lessons turns into frustration. Various circumstances and difficulties encountered by schoolchildren, hinder the process of successful solving of tasks. What these obstacles are and how to help a child overcome them, read further in the article.
Why a child does not understand math
Why is it so common to hate math and how can we help children learn to see this subject as more than just numbers and equations? Let's take a look at 7 important reasons why this happens.
Demotivation
Pressure and disbelief from teachers or parents make it much harder for a little one. "Your child doesn't make an effort" or "He's taking a long time to think when the whole class knows the answer" are phrases that can discourage even well-behaved children from practicing.
Fear of making a mistake
Fear is a strong demotivator in learning. The wrong teacher's approach looks like this: "To solve this problem, you need to think a lot. Let's do some easy tasks now, and at home, whoever wants to, will solve the difficult ones." Most children will not even try to solve them. The teacher said that they are difficult, that they require considerable effort and special knowledge. And parents will be busy and will not be able to help.
Misunderstanding of the basics
The basis of learning math is memorizing large amounts of information. How to understand mathematics and at the same time do not learn anything by heart? The answer is simple: you can't. And this is one of the reasons why children have difficulties with this school subject.
Boring homework
There is a stereotype that this subject is boring, so both parents and children often have an aversion to it. And sometimes mom or dad don't have time to deal with solving problems together with the kids. But that's the thing: after all, to get good at this exact science, you need to do the tasks at home.
Fear of comparison
Children are more susceptible than adults to comparing themselves to others. When it comes time to study and a child struggles to master a subject that others can easily understand, he or she may feel that he or she is lagging behind or, even worse, stupid.
Speed of mastering a subject
School classrooms often contain up to 30 or even more children, where everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. Some kids may find it hard to keep up with the pace, because their grasping speed is slower, but they are embarrassed to say so.
Misunderstanding the benefits of math
Often parents don't know how to get their child interested in math, because they think that this subject is unnecessary and meaningless in "real life". This is how children don't always understand the benefits of math.
How to help your child love math
Adults encounter numbers every day, from calculating the cost and quantity of groceries to planning travel time. They may also overlook the presence of math in their interests, such as calculating the teams' scores for soccer, and weighing ingredients, calculating quantities and cooking time for baking.
But how do you explain math to a child in an engaging way? It is very simple. For example, the topic of fractions can be dealt with real-life examples, such as slices of cake or pizza. Board and card games, Sudoku, books with math concepts and problems, such as determining the number of bags of sweets that will be needed for holiday gifts for your son or daughter, will help to learn numbers in an interesting way.
To motivate your middle schooler to learn the exact sciences, encourage logic skills in children.
Encourage your son or daughter to gradually and leisurely figure out a problem and suggest a way to solve it. If you want to know how to teach your child math, you can consider the following ways.
Play math games
Often, number comprehension skills are developed in an informal setting. Buy board games with a bias towards exact science and logic. This is a great way to relieve stress and simply enjoy the learning process.
Be an example
Some children like to learn on their own while others need extra help in mastering this difficult subject. When talking to your kids about math, use a personal example and show them how you apply science to life - whether it's calculating a budget or making a recipe.
Emphasize logic
If you want kids to do well in math, don't focus on their wrong answers. You need to emphasize logic. Take interest in how the child got his answer. This way you can analyze at what stage the difficulty in solving problems arose.
Explain that it is normal to make mistakes
Responding calmly to mistakes is a test of stamina and can be an effective way of learning. Parents should convey the message that not everything works the first time.
Look for interesting learning
How can you help your child love math if the parents weren't strong in the subject? There are plenty of free resources for learning. Encourage your kids to make the most of their time online. YouTube, Tik Tok, and Instagram offer more than just entertaining content: look for expert and community pages with educational content.
Encourage a growth mindset
Often, psychological attitudes get in the way in life. Does your child not understand math? Or perhaps he's just afraid to challenge himself because of his own limitations in thinking. Explain to children that no one is born a math whiz, it all comes with experience.
Talk about how everyone can do well with effort and hard work.
Don't rush them
It's important to convey that it's not about speed. Mastering logic is more important than a quick solution. Don't force your child to finish a worksheet or problem in a set time - this will only increase their anxiety.
To get your student excited about math, you don't need to push him or her in calculations or express your frustration over slow problem solving. Focus on strategy and logic rather than speed and memorization. Play fun math games to emphasize that math is more than numbers.
Make it clear to your son or daughter that math offers many opportunities for fulfillment in life, from designing video games to designing clothes.
Keep in mind that everyone's approach to understanding the subject and speed of learning is different, but nothing is impossible.