Why maths is so difficult for some children
Safety in Numbers: For Parents of Children with Maths DifficultiesShow Notes
If you've ever sat next to your child during maths homework and wondered Why is this so hard for them? then this episode is a good place to start.
In this first episode, I want to step back from labels and diagnoses and start with the question most parents are already asking: why is maths so hard in the first place?
The answer is more complex than you might expect, and understanding it changes how you see what's happening for your child.
We cover: Why maths places such heavy demands on the brain and what that actually means The role of number magnitude, working memory, and consolidation How other learning differences (dyslexia, ADHD, dyspraxia) can make maths harder even when maths isn't the primary difficulty Why anxiety builds and how it gets in the way What your child's behaviour around maths might be telling you
There's a practical takeaway at the end, and a companion guide to help you hold on to what we've covered and think it through in relation to your own child.
Companion guide: available here.
Links mentioned: The Dyscalculia Network's Jenga Effect: available here.
Next episode: Why maths facts don't seem to stick, and why repetition so often isn't the answer parents expect.
More from Safety in Numbers: For Parents of Children with Maths Difficulties
"What does this mean for my child's future?" is one of the first questions parents ask once dyscalculia is properly on their radar.
Maths conversations at home can turn into battlegrounds without either parent or child quite knowing how it happened. In this episode, I look at what's really going on underneath those difficult conversations and why the goal isn't getting one conversation right, but understanding what every conversation is building over time.
If you've ever left a parents' evening reassured, only to watch your child struggle just as much at home the following week, this episode is for you. I look at why "my child is getting support" and "my child's support is actually working" aren't the same thing, and what tends to get in the way of the second one, without any of it being anyone's fault. I also cover the different, less obvious shapes a maths difficulty can take at school: the helpful child, the funny one, the child who's called lazy or easily distracted, and why a parent is often the one person who can see what's really going on underneath.
Your child can do the method at home. They can explain it, work through it calmly, get the right answer. Then in class, or in a test, or the moment they're put on the spot, it disappears.
If your child still uses their fingers to work out maths, you may have wondered whether they should have grown out of it by now.