What to do when your child is having trouble learning math: tips for parents (2023)

Children of any age can struggle with math. Since elementary schools are a hotbed of learning, it can often be difficult for parents to keep track of their children's progress. But at some point you may be told, or find out the hard way, that your child is struggling with math.

There are a number of reasons a child might struggle with math, from math anxiety to a variety of special educational needs (formerly known as math difficulties and learning disabilities). Maybe your child is a thoughtful student and is already thinking: "Why is math so difficult for me?"

Whatever the reason for the difficulty, in this post we will discuss how to tell if your child finds math frustrating and how you can help them master math.

This blog is part of our parent support blog serieslearning at homeand searchHome learning resourcesduring the Covid-19 epidemic.

What do we mean by "struggle with mathematics"?

It is definitely difficult to judge if a child has early math problems or if your child is actually a KS2 student struggling with math.

Determining where your child fits into the expectations of their age bracket or age group is definitely a good place to start - if your child is in first grade and can't solve second-degree equations, that certainly doesn't mean they're going to be a toddler. years old who has difficulties in math!

We've put together a guide to help you figure out what's wrong and how you can help your child learn math.

• How to recognize what your child is struggling with in math; It is
• How to help your child in math after you figure out what's holding them back, including techniques to ensure your child is keeping up, staying on track, and even making progress in math.

Find out what your child is struggling with in math

Really, to determine if your child is struggling with math and a particular area that they may find difficult, you need to understand what they need to know and be able to do at that point in their learning.

Your child's teacher is the best person to advise you on this, but if you want more in-depth information, we recommend giving your child a few low-risk test questions (see some examples below) or, even better, taking an assessment. full diagnosis of your child. Knowledge and understanding relevant to their school career.

How to Tell if Your 6 or 7 Year Old Is Struggling with Math (1st or 2nd grade)

By the end of year two, children should have developed a range of knowledge and skills, including:

• Count back and forth in increments of 2, 3, and 5 from 0 and in increments of 10 of each number;
• compare and match numbers from 0 to 100; with the characters <, > and =;
• recognize and apply the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction to check calculations and solve problems with missing numbers;
• recognize and use pound (£) and pence (p) symbols;
• identify and describe the properties of three-dimensional shapes, including the number of edges, vertices (corners), and faces.

Here are three sample questions from Third Space Learning's Elementary Math Intervention Program to help you find out if your child is struggling with math.

1. Compare numbers and order

2. Recognition and use of pound and pence symbols

Many children who are good at math and have memorized facts struggle with form and other areas of math vocabulary, so this is a good option to try.

3. Identify the properties of 3D shapes.

How to Tell if Your 8 or 9 Year Old Is Struggling in Math (3rd & 4th Grade)

By the end of fourth grade, children should have developed a range of knowledge and skills, including:

• count in multiples of 6, 7, 9, 25 and 1000;
• Round each number to the nearest 10, 100, or 1000;
• Get multiplication and division facts for multiplication tables up to 12 × 12;
• Multiply two and three digit numbers by a single digit number using a formal writing layout;
• add and subtract fractions with the same denominator;
• Measure and calculate the perimeter of a rectilinear figure (including squares) in centimeters and meters;
• Completion of a simple symmetrical figure with respect to a given axis of symmetry;
• Solve comparison, addition, and difference problems using information presented in bar charts, pictograms, tables, and other graphics.

As children progress from toddlers (KS1) to juniors (KS2), there is a big shift in the amount they need to know and the skills they need to acquire to keep up with math. They may have gotten comfortable with math in their early school years, and difficulty learning math may now be presenting.

Here are three sample questions from Third Space Learning's 4th grade elementary math intervention program that can help us determine if your child is struggling with math.

1. Interpretation of bar charts

Some children can have safe operations and number operations when they are 8 or 9 years old. Difficulties with math can be most apparent when taken from the comfort of arithmetic and thrown into the murkier waters of the math of reasoning and problem solving.

2. Calculates the perimeter of a rectilinear figure (including squares) in centimeters and meters

When it comes to scope, a lot of math skills are required. A child needs spatial intelligence: to be able to visualize the shape, break it down into its component parts or sides, remember the correct formula to find the length of the side, and then use their addition knowledge to calculate the find sum. .

3. Add and subtract fractions with the same denominator

Children using our online learning programs have the opportunity to experience and practice skills relevant to their age group (or age group). During the one-on-one sessions, your online tutor will identify any obstacles that might prevent a child from acquiring a specific math skill or fact, and then address them immediately.

Use age-specific tests to find out what math your child can do

Once children reach 3rd or 4th grade, they are also much better able to sit down and take a full test with mixed questions appropriate for their age. We have created test documents at the year group level to help you determine how your child is doing compared to children their age.

Sample questions from our third grade math and arithmetic exam

One of the first questions in our 4th grade think tank: It's getting harder!

How to Tell if Your 10 or 11 Year Old Is Struggling in Math (5th or 6th Grade)

As students in these grades approach the end of elementary school, they prepare for the SATs, or transition to high school, and the challenges that 7th grade math will bring.

Children in grade 5 or grade 6 are expected to know or be able to:

• identify common divisors, common multiples, and primes;
• divide real fractions by integers;
• Solve problems with similar shapes where the scaling factor is known or can be found;
• generate and describe linear sequences of numbers;
• recognize when it is possible to use area and volume formulas for shapes;
• Represent and name parts of circles, including radius, diameter and circumference, knowing that diameter is twice the radius;
• Draw and move simple shapes on the coordinate plane and mirror them about the axes.

Here are three sample questions from Third Space Learning's Elementary Math Intervention Program for 6th grade to help you find out if your child is struggling with math.

1. Recognize when you can use formulas for area and volume of shapes

2. Identify common divisors, common multiples, and primes

3. Generate and describe sequences of linear numbers

5th and 6th grades are important years: it's not like our school days when only elementary or private schools forced children to take exams to get into 7th grade... Many academies require that children take exams at the end of the year. 5 or early in 6th grade as part of the preparation for your future 7th grade admissions.

Again, the amount of knowledge and skills required to keep up with math in 5th or 6th grade is enormous. Moving from Year 4 to Upper Key Stage 2 is a giant leap!

Whether your child is in 5th or 6th grade, it's important to have an idea of ​​what exactly your child is struggling with in math...

Does your child have trouble with math facts, causing difficulties in learning math?

It's worth asking your school for adyscalculia court hearing.

What you can do to help your child when they are struggling with math

Stay positive - sounds easy, but many forget this

First things first, don't emphasize the problem, and definitely don't say "I'm not a mathematician" or encourage your child to copy "I'm not a mathematician."

Various studiesshowed that a young person's future performance in mathematics, more than any other factor, can be negatively influenced by parents, leading them to believe that "I'm not a math person" is an inherited disorder,hereditary family trait.

It is not.

If you struggled with math, it probably had something to do with how your teachers taught you in the past.

You may even be suffering from “math trauma,” such as being consciously or unconsciously discouraged from doing math after being taunted by your classmates or, worse, a teacher when you are called to the blackboard to solve a problem to solve at school

Such an event leaves a paralyzing fear of being wrong - a terrible tragedy, since learning math is supposed to be about making mistakes and learning from them!

"Mathematical trauma", as you would expect, is the primary cause ofMath anxiety, but there are many things you can do to help.

As parents, it is important to support children in their belief that they can be successful in all areas of learning. Closing a door in a certain area may mean putting an obstacle in your wayprofessional career Your child may find it harder to follow later in life.

To help your child when they are struggling with math, three words can guide them: slow, easy, supportive.

These three words are all you need to help your child achieve as much as possible in their math learning, so we'll cover them in more detail below, along with some additional tips for parents and guardians.

1. Take it easy

If you've noticed or been made aware of an area of ​​difficulty as your child's math learning, your instinct will likely be to fire all guns and throw the kitchen sink at the problem to catch up.

By taking a moment to step back and figure out what might be best for your supportive child, rather than forcefully filling a specific gap in your knowledge, you stand a better chance of making sustained progress and improving yours learning.

2. Keep it simple

When a child is struggling with math homework at school, the teacher will ask a simpler question or provide more specific tools such as number lines, multiplication tables, counters, or multilink cubes to make the homework easier. .

People often think that only the youngest children use these devices and tools; However, the best teachers use them with elementary school students, and these resources are now being used more often in high school as well.

You can do the same at home by drawing a number line, having a multiplication table handy,Keep your math dictionary handy, or using pieces of pasta or Lego to represent sets.

It's best not to overwhelm your child by giving up tasks that are too complicated; However, oversimplification is also a problem.

Having them memorize their multiplication tables only makes sense if they can make connections between knowing that, for example, 2 x 7 = 14, 7 x 2 = 14,14÷ 2 = 7 years14÷ 7 = 2, which allows them to see the relationship between multiplication (which should be represented as repeated addition, adding 7 lots of 2 or 2 lots of 7 together) and division and also to identify factors of numbers.

3. Be supportive

Patience really is a virtue.when knowledge or skills are passed from one person to another.

You may remember times in your own life when you didn't get it right off the bat and were put off by the task or the driving instructor if they took their frustration out on you: learning to drive was easier to swallow with a parent than with one Parent, the other, or an upset teacher at school whose lack of composure and consideration distracts him/her from the subject.

4. Get more involved

Don't be afraid to ask your school for further help; Find out what homework your child gets each week, and if they're struggling with math, you may need to sit next to them to encourage them.

Make a regular time for math homework, and if there's something you can't help with, figure out the answer together. In fact, it's a great learning opportunity for your child to realize that we all need to search for things and find answers - nobody knows everything. Start with this blog for more tipshow to help your child with their homework

5. Talk about math at home.

MeetWays to integrate math into everyday life, all those old favorites like asking your kid about the prices of items in stores, calculating the cost of what they bought that day, or identifying window shapes and other building features to incorporate a shape too.

There are manyfree math websites and online homework websitesto help you support your child in math. Likewise, games in the real world or on paper can help with mathematical thinking, such assu doku,card games,Battleshipand chess