Lockdown adds up to increased anxiety for mums trying to teach their children maths skills
NEW research reveals that two thirds of mums lack confidence in maths and are concerned about their ability to help their children with their sums.
Despite mums being most likely to help their children with maths homework (70%), two-fifths say they feel anxious doing so due to a lack of confidence in the subject.
The survey of 2,000 mothers and female carers with children aged 11-16 years old was commissioned by online learning platform Numerise to uncover how mums feel about maths and their views on how lockdown is affecting their children’s maths confidence and progress this school year.
A significant number of mums reported that low maths confidence impacts their ability to help their children with their maths learning (40%). Worryingly, low maths confidence leaves a third of mums dreading doing maths in everyday life and a quarter pretend to know more about maths than they really do.
Similarly, 40% reported that their child suffers from low maths confidence.
In response to mums’ concerns about low maths confidence, Numerise has launched The Confidence Lab, a hub of information and inspiration to help children and grown-ups build maths confidence. Its launch is supported by television presenter, ex-CBBC presenter and mum of two, Angellica Bell.
“It is so important as a parent to feel confident about maths,” says Angellica. “That doesn’t mean you need to know all the answers all the time, it’s about showing your children that difficult things can be overcome with practice and patience. If you lack maths confidence and shy away from it, those
anxieties might influence your children.
“I think it’s important that my children feel confident about maths, because it will help them so much in their later life. That’s why I am so supportive of Numerise’s message, that when it comes to maths learning, confidence, practice and a little patience can make a difference.”
Numerise is an online, homelearning maths platform that engages and supports children and young people to build the skills and confidence they need in maths.
It is designed for children aged 10 to 16, covering Key Stage 3 through to GCSE and delivers personalised practice to each learner.
Lucy Davis, CEO of Maths on Toast, the family maths charity, says: “We want everyone to feel positive about maths – to feel it is something they can do, and enjoy.
“Many adults have a rigid perception of maths – they may have had negative experiences of maths learning or may feel they are ‘just not maths people’. Research shows this attitude is often passed from adult to child.”
■ For more on Numerise and The Confidence Lab, visit numerise. com. Packages start from £7.99 per month.