Five mistakes parents unintentionally make when helping with maths.

Maths anxiety can be fueled by making these common mistakes.

1. Introducing symbols like +, -, x and = too soon.

When symbols like these are introduced before there is a clear understanding as to what the symbol represents, it can cause confusion. We’re surrounded by them, so there’s a natural assumption that our children understand, but there’s a lot more that needs to be understood BEFORE these symbols are introduced.

 2. Introducing written maths – algorithms and formulas – too soon.

It’s the same with these. Knowing how to use them without knowing WHY they work, creates a very shaky ‘foundation’, on which everything else is built. It might seem like they ’get it’, but the potential for everything falling apart later on is quite high.

 3. “Taking over” too soon when their child starts to struggle.

Contrary to what you might think, struggle is good for your child ... within reason, obviously … and the ‘struggle’ is actually building neural pathways in their brains … but when we jump in too soon, we rob our children of the opportunity to try different methods, or another way.

A good question to ask after some struggle is “Are you stuck or are you thinking?” and then you can offer support by asking questions about what they have tried, and what they were thinking about, before anything else.

 4. Not using the same maths language as their child, leading to confusion.

This is one of the biggest issues! As adults we use the language that we learnt, understandably, but when we use it to help our children, it confuses them because it is SO different to what they hear and use at school.

For example, there is no more ‘borrow and pay back’ or ‘carrying’ numbers. Your child might use words like ‘exchanging’, ‘regrouping’, and the names of different strategies. Knowing the language and using it at home will be a HUGE help.

 5. Not using manipulatives (blocks, counters, toys, etc) to help their child explain and demonstrate their thinking and understanding.

ALL children, from Kinder to Year 6 - and beyond - need to be able to explain and demonstrate their thinking, and using blocks, toys, drawings, ANYTHING that can help them to show you what they know and help them explain their thinking is important.

Adults often think that using these types of items demonstrates a deficiency in their child’s learning, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, some do NEED them, but all primary children should be using something to demonstrate or explain their thinking, because this is what is asked of them at school.

MathsBites was built to help you avoid all of these unintentional mistakes, by giving you everything you need to know about what your child is learning each year.