There is a popular opinion that math is hard and kids start disliking it even before they encounter it at school. Math is often seen as a dull subject due to all that counting and memorising, but we can make the most of our surroundings and incorporate everyday objects into teaching math to make it closer to kids. If your child is struggling with math, here are some creative techniques to help them overcome this problem.
Common causes of math issues
Math can be difficult for kids for many reasons. Solving mathematical problems involves having a good memory and linguistic skills, as well as having the ability to picture things easily. Some children are natural talents for math, while others need more time to grasp the concepts. Kids can sometimes be so worried about doing math that it affects their actual performance. This is known as math anxiety. Sometimes kids simply find math boring and aren’t properly motivated to deal with it. Whatever the cause of the problem is, you can fix it.
Listen to your kids first
Before you start helping your children with math, you need to discover what’s troubling them and which areas are particularly difficult for them to understand. Pay attention to their behaviour while dealing with math and discover the problematic spots. This will help you address the specific problems more efficiently. Also, if your child gives you a wrong answer to some equation, ask them to explain how they came up with the solution. Discovering what went wrong during their thinking process is much more effective than just telling your child that they are wrong and offering the right answer.
Introduce math in everyday life
Math is all around us and we use it all the time to get through life. For example, when we go shopping, we compare prices, calculate costs, and double check the amount of change we got. Making kids realise that math is meaningful in real life may help them understand it better. Let children practice math while doing everyday activities. For example, you can ask your kids to pair up the socks while sorting out the laundry or measure the ingredients while they’re helping you in the kitchen. Making math a game will take the pressure off.
Make kids visualise
Visual representation is an effective technique teachers can use to help kids understand math better. For example, if you want to teach your kids the place of numbers on the number line, arrange cubes to represent each number on the number line and give various tasks to kids. Ask them to count to 15 or where the cube number 30 is. Afterwards, remove the cubes and ask them to repeat the same activities, only this time, they need to imagine the numbers. Visualising numbers will help them in learning.
Consult the experts
If your help is not enough for your kid to tackle math problems, consider enrolling them in a reliable tuition centre. These institutions favour the approach of catering to each child’s individual needs and are fully dedicated to them. That way, your kid will be able to make progress at their own pace and connect with other children with similar difficulties.
Remember to boost their confidence
Math issues can lower your child’s self-esteem, inhibit their learning progress, and also reflect on other spheres of their life, such as social interactions. It’s important to help your children recognize their strengths and work on them. Remind your kids about all the things they are good at to boost their confidence and help them not succumb to stress. Also, don’t forget to praise them when they do well at math to motivate them to keep trying.
Math can be a source of discomfort for many kids, but recognising the problem and implementing various strategies will help your child overcome this problem and start playing with numbers.
