Raise a Child Who Likes Math
Little kids usually love numbers. Find out how to sustain that passion as they move on to trickier math concepts.
Laura Laing of Baltimore, MD, never considered herself a naturally gifted math student, and recalls having trouble getting through algebra in seventh grade. But that didn't stop her from developing a love for the subject that eventually led to her becoming a high school math teacher.
It's a passion she is now doing her best to instill in her daughter. Already, 7-year-old Zoe has shown an interest in math, and Laing credits the way she and her partner have introduced Zoe to the concepts. Everything, from counting stairs to the petals on a flower, becomes a mathematical game they play. "We've tried to approach math in a way that makes sense for her," she says. "The big thing is to point out where math is in everyday life."
Introducing math at younger ages is helping children like Zoe become more comfortable with numbers. And by planting those seeds early, it's easier for students to understand the concepts they eventually learn in school. "Anything you do with money translates to fractions and decimals," Laing says. Figuring out how many hours you slept by looking at a clock, understanding integers through temperature, or cutting up brownies "all become something they can take into the classroom," she says. "It gives them something real to base these concepts on."
That's important, because even though it starts out relatively simple, math is an inherently hard subject to grasp. And the sooner a child becomes comfortable in math, the more likely he is to excel in the subject.
"Early on, most kids like math," says Francis (Skip) Fennell, president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. "You can get an answer that makes perfect sense. But I do recognize that there are certain subjects that, by their very nature, become a struggle as you get deeper into them. They demand more time dealing with the kind of problem-solving needed. You're going to have to work hard." If that becomes frustrating, he says, it's common for kids' first instinct to be "to turn and run."
Compounding the problem, he and other math experts say, are parents who readily admit that they were one of those kids. Don Fraser, author of Taking the Numb Out of Numbers, says it's all too common to hear a parent proclaim "I can't do math." "Yet that same mom will never say 'I can't read very well.' For some reason, it's socially accepted for parents to say they aren't good at math, while the same is never true for language."
While Fennell doesn't believe anybody was "born with a math gene," he stresses that this subject requires hard work. "This is a heavily home-worked subject, and there are elements that need rehearsal," he says. "I expect a math book or whatever they use to come home" almost every day.
Connecting numbers to events that happen in your child's everyday life makes a big difference toward his acceptance of the subject. "Count everything," Fennell says. It could be objects in a living room, silverware on a table, or boxes of cereal in a grocery store. "Ask him to estimate how many steps it will take to walk from here to there, how many of an item will measure a table top. Get him thinking about what kind of shapes he sees, how many triangles, circles, or squares are in the room. There are loads of opportunities to help kids connect to this subject called math."
The goal, says Fraser, "is to make them as comfortable and confident in dealing with numbers as a lot of kids are with words." You can do your part to help your child make better sense of numbers by following these simple steps:
- Encourage her to do her homework out loud. Whether your child is multiplying numbers or solving a problem, tell her to talk through it. That way she's more likely to spot her own mistakes and correct them.
- Take turns doing the homework. Switch off who answers each question. Deliberately make a mistake on a problem, then have your child check your work. "It adds variety," says Fraser. "There is less of you hanging over the kitchen table as he pounds away on each question," and more partnership in finding the solution. "If you encourage him to mark your work, he's actually doing the question again."
- Break problems into steps. Then reward her for her work. For example, when multiplying two digits by two digits, give her a star for getting the first line correct, a star for getting the second line correct, then another star for the final, third line. "It helps her diagnose where she's making a mistake," says Fraser, and gives her plenty of encouragement along the way.
- Keep repetition to short bursts. Nobody's knocking repetition, but too much can get boring. "It's better to do three similar questions every night, than to do 20 questions and move on to a different topic," Fraser says.
- Remember: You can always make a difference. At some point in your child's education, you'll reach a point where you don't feel you can help him anymore, perhaps because you didn't learn the subject, or he's moved beyond you. "That's very real," says Fennell. But it's important to always remember that "you need to show him you value his education and that the subject is important. Even if you've never done calculus, you can help him by showing your support and your pride in his achievements."
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