One of the worst things people say to their children is ‘ I could never do maths when I was your age’. This is meant to be sympathetic BUT let’s look at the reality. In reality you are saying to the young person, ‘ it is highly unlikely that you will sucked’, But you are also saying ‘ I managed without maths, so if you are canny, you can too.’ Nothing can be further from the truth. Maths and literacy are like food and drink. You can survive for a while without one of them but you will eventually fail.
You do not expect children to fail at reading. There is an expectation that all children will learn to read so why expect them or even encourage them to fail at maths?
The answer is adult anxiety. Very often we pass on our own anxiety to the next generation. This can often bring bad memories of anxiety and stress in the classroom and that is then passed onto the children. This is a cycle that has to be broken. One way is to use puzzles.This is fun.
Here is a puzzle you can try at home
If you put your left foot on the first step as you go upstairs, do you put your left foot on the top step? If so why? If not why not?
Understanding Maths
Dr Lawler’s has written Understanding Maths to help you with maths.
This will help you support your children.