Maths anxiety is a feeling of tension or worry when faced with numbers. It is not the same as being bad at maths, but the two can feed each other: worry takes up the mental space a child needs to think.
The good news is that parents are in a strong position to keep maths feeling safe, whatever their own maths story.
It can start early
Ramirez and colleagues found that children in first and second grade (roughly ages six to eight) already varied in maths anxiety, and that higher anxiety was linked to lower achievement.
Interestingly, the link was strongest for children with higher working memory, the very children who would otherwise use their mental space well. Worry seemed to crowd it out.
Parents’ feelings travel
Maloney and colleagues found that when parents who were anxious about maths helped frequently with maths homework, their children learned less maths over the school year and became more anxious themselves.
When those parents helped less often, their children’s maths was not linked to the parents’ anxiety.
This is not a reason to stay away. It is a reason to notice the messages we send: sighs, “I was rubbish at this”, or rushing in with the answer can all teach a child that maths is something to fear.
What helps
In a large study, Berkowitz and colleagues gave families a simple app of short maths stories and questions to share at bedtime. Children whose parents were anxious about maths made notably more progress when they used it regularly. Light, positive, shared maths, done often, seems to help.
- Talk about maths as something everyone can grow at, not a talent you have or lack.
- Keep it short and playful: a counting game on the stairs, a sharing puzzle at snack time.
- Give thinking time. Silence after a question is fine.
- Treat wrong answers with curiosity: “How did you get that?”
- Avoid timed drills and comparisons with siblings or friends.
- If you feel anxious yourself, say “let’s work it out together” rather than “I’m bad at this”.
When to ask for help
If your child is regularly upset, avoids anything to do with numbers, or has physical signs of worry around maths, talk to their teacher. Anxiety can be gently addressed, and the earlier it is noticed, the easier that is.