Learning
My child is struggling with mathematics: what parents can do
October 31, 2026
Many children decide early that they are "not good at maths", and that belief can stay with them for years. The good news is that most maths difficulties have clear causes, and children can catch up with the right support.
Why children fall behind
Mathematics builds on itself. A child who never fully understood place value, times tables or fractions will struggle with every topic that depends on them, even if the new topic is taught well. Large classes, missed lessons and moving too fast all make these gaps more likely.
Signs to look out for
- Still counting on fingers for simple sums at an age when classmates don't.
- Getting answers right one day and wrong the next.
- Avoiding maths homework or getting very upset about it.
- Doing well in other subjects but not in maths.
- Not being able to explain how they got an answer.
What helps at home
- Keep it positive: avoid saying you were "never good at maths" yourself. Children copy our attitudes.
- Make maths part of everyday life: counting change at the shop, measuring when cooking, telling the time, reading prices.
- Practise a little and often: ten minutes a day works better than an hour at the weekend.
- Ask your child to explain their thinking. Explaining shows what they really understand.
- Praise effort and good thinking, not just correct answers.
Talk to the teacher
Ask which topics your child finds hardest and what the class is learning now. Teachers can often point to the exact gap.
When a tutor makes sense
If your child is falling further behind, has lost confidence, or has an exam coming up, one-on-one help can make a big difference. A good tutor starts by finding the gaps, goes back to rebuild them and moves at your child's pace, something that's hard to do in a big class.
With online lessons, your child can learn from home, and you can sit in on the first few lessons to see how the tutor teaches.