6 Tips to Help Your Child Excel in Math

We generally think that the life of children is free from any worries, and so we long for such a carefree lives. Reality, though, is different. Children do have their own set of worries with their studies being the most prominent among them. With increasing competition, even the syllabus of junior classes is increasingly complicated. Math is especially notorious for being extremely complex, with many students dreading the subject. If your child is one to run from Math, here are a few ways to build a harmonious relationship between your child and the subject:

Emotional Support

If your child feels they cannot reach or maintain an average performance level in mathematics, he/she might get discouraged and give up further efforts to improve. They accept their weakness as a condition and generally lack the confidence. Here, as a parent, you can support them emotionally and show your confidence in their ability to perform well. Take an active interest in determining the exact cause of their poor performance.

In many cases, stronger emotional support and an active participation in your child’s study schedule can be the help needed for your child to gain confidence and begin endeavors afresh. Such well-structured support can not only go a long way in improving performance, but also gives your child the confidence to know you are with them on this journey. As the famous saying goes, “One and One makes 11.”

Strengthen the Foundation

Start at the root level instead of directly touching the advanced level as most of performance related issues arise from weak foundation. The best way to do that is to first study their math books to acquaint yourself with the foundational knowledge required to perform well. Then impart the same knowledge to your child using simpler language. Initially, focus on the foundational knowledge only. Once the foundation is clear, it’s possible many of your child’s problems would be solved.

Build Confidence

Many brilliant children who lag behind only in math may adopt a wrong approach towards the subject. They would rather focus at further improving their performance in other subjects they are good at and start neglecting math completely. Understandably, it further impacts their performance. Hence, instead of scolding them on their poor performance in math, you should instead praise them on their excellent performance in other subjects and show your confidence that if they can master the other subjects they are equally capable of excelling in Math too. Along with boosting the confidence you should also be ready to start working on their weakness.

Timely Assessment

Children have a quaint habit of forgetting earlier lessons while forging ahead. In fact, many children are so fascinated by new lessons that parents are surprised at their excellent grasping power. But when the results arrive, their poor performance stuns the parents. The reason is that while the child is grasping the new lessons quite excellently he is also forgetting the old lessons at the same time. So, it is very important to conduct periodical tests to assess the overall performance of children. Here you need to keep your expectations modest. Praise their good performance. On poor performance, just ask them the reason try to find an exact solution. Be patient, within reasonable time the performance will keep on improving.

Communication

Presentation and communication skills play a vital role here. Break the complexity of the words and present the Math concepts in a child-friendly language. The best way is to go for a tentative approach while practicing any teaching method to ascertain whether that method is actually benefitting your child or do you need to change. Once you are confirmed that the adopted teaching method is actually benefitting your child, you can apply it as a full-fledged approach.

Graphics

There are many books available on bookshelves that teach mathematics using graphics. These books teach different concepts such as subtraction multiplication, division and addition using visuals. Instead of words, the books rely on graphics to explain the concept as well as to give practice exercises. For some children, visuals help better connect the mathematics with beautiful graphics to leave a long lasting impact on their mind (by strengthening memory and retaining what has been learnt).