Problems in mathematics: 10 tips that help

1. What does your child need mathematics for?

To increase your child’s motivation for mathematics, you should show them why the subject is so important. Your child needs a good knowledge of mathematics not only for other important school subjects such as physics, social sciences or chemistry, but also for many courses and training courses. Maybe your child wants to be an engineer, programmer, architect or pilot later? But most other professions also require your child to pay attention in mathematics.

2. Create a connection to everyday life

Make it clear to your child that math is also part of everyday life. When shopping, calculating pocket money, distributing cakes fairly or weighing baking ingredients, your child needs knowledge that is taught in mathematics.

3. Learn mathematics through play

Learning for the next class work in mathematics does not always have to be boring and dry. You can also offer your child various computer tutorials designed to teach math. You can buy special games for learning mathematics from publishers in bookstores or on the Internet. But even a simple home-made game or a common card or dice game can work wonders when it comes to interest in quantities and numbers.

4. Stay on the ball with math

Especially in the subject of mathematics, the teaching content builds on one another. That’s why it’s important that your child stays on the ball while learning. Once it loses touch, it takes a lot of work to catch up. You should therefore make sure that your child has a good command of the basics of mathematics in particular, so that later on with this basic knowledge it develops fewer problems in understanding. Even if your child has been ill for a long time, it should quickly fill in the gaps in its knowledge, especially in mathematics, before it later no longer understands what the lesson is all about.

5. Properly study for math

You can make learning math easier for your child with various little tricks. For example, you can create a precise learning plan in which you determine when, what and how much your child has to learn. Also plan enough breaks or a small reward after studying; that promotes motivation. Your child can write difficult formulas, rules and terms for the subject on index cards to make them easier to remember. You can find more suggestions in our article “Learning for school – 10 tips for parents” .

6. Doing math homework

You should make sure that your child always does his homework conscientiously and does not “forget” it more often. In this way, it quickly becomes apparent which topics your child still has difficulties with and where there is no further need to catch up. The homework also helps to consolidate what you have learned and to repeat different types of tasks several times so that routine arithmetic becomes routine.

7. Encourage interest in mathematics

With little riddles or brain teasers, you can arouse your child’s interest in logical thought processes. A visit to a scientific or technical museum can also promote interest in and understanding of mathematics. A construction set or an experiment set is probably also more interesting for your child than a boring textbook.

8. Talk to the teacher about problems with mathematics

If your child has big problems with math, you should not only talk to your child but also to the math teacher. He can probably tell you exactly where your child’s problems lie. He may also be able to help you to find the reason for the problems. Are his lessons perhaps too demanding or too boring for your child to be able to follow properly? Do other students in the class have similar problems? Perhaps a certain topic was not explained well enough.

9. Tutoring in mathematics

If your child has a lot of catching up to do in math, tutoring can also be a sensible option to improve their performance again. It helps some children a lot if they get a few extra exercises and explanations. Professional tutoring institutes offer tutoring in mathematics. But older pupils or students can also help your child to get his understanding problems under control.

10. Dyscalculia: problems in mathematics

If, despite all the support, your child still has inexplicable problems in mathematics, dyscalculia may be the reason. This is usually recognized in elementary school, but sometimes not until later. You can find out exactly what dyscalculia is, how you can find out if your child is affected and what you can do about it in our article “Dyscalculia” .