HOW TO HELP YOUR CHILD WITH MATH All parents love to watch their kids perform in school plays, talent shows and sports competitions. As your children sing, dance, sprint, dribble and dive their way through their childhood and teenage years, you’ll encourage, cheer and wipe away tears. What show-offs they are! But what confidence and determination they exhibit. Maybe being a show-off at home can be a good thing too—if your son or daughter becomes a “math show-off.” By asking your young Einstein to teach you a few things, you may help your child or teen develop the confidence necessary to become a better mathematician. In addition, you may gain invaluable insight into the teaching methods used by your child’s math teacher and find it easier to work together to solve math problems at home. So, the next time you hear, “Please help me with this math homework,” try a few of the suggestions below. You may be surprised to discover how much both of you will learn. Before either of you pick up a pencil, look through the math textbook together. Discuss the directions, examples and explanations until you both understand them. If you encounter any unfamiliar math terms or symbols, ask your son or daughter to informally explain them to you. Then look them up in the textbook and create a vocabulary list for future reference. Include a simple definition and an example for each word and symbol. Find out whether your son or daughter prefers to solve math word problems by drawing a sketch, making a table, looking for a pattern, writing an equation or just talking through the problem until it makes sense. Ask your “young Einstein” to pick out a couple of “easy” math problems and show you how to solve them using his or her favorite method. Once you have a better understanding of how your child or teen likes to work, you are ready to tackle the tough problems as a team. Encourage your child to explain things as the two of you work together. Praise your son or daughter’s mathematical strengths when appropriate. Address weaknesses and incorrect solutions quickly and patiently. Above all, remember that confidence breeds competence. We all like to do things that we do well and children are no exception. Brag about your child’s math strengths and work patiently through the “non-strengths.” You may never see your son or daughter spouting mathematics to a spellbound audience or lugging a math trophy through your front door…but, then again, maybe you will. By Anne C. Patterson