Updated: 09/04/2026
If your child is finding maths tricky, the first thing to know is that it's rarely about ability. Maths is the subject where the curriculum moves fastest, where each year builds directly on the last, and where a single gap can undermine everything that comes after. It's not that your child can't do maths. It's usually that something specific got missed, and it's been causing problems ever since.
The other thing worth knowing: you don't need to be a maths expert yourself to help. You just need a few of the right approaches.
When a child is struggling, the instinct: just have them work harder! But more practice on the wrong thing (or on work that's too advanced for where they actually are) just builds frustration. Before anything else, try to work out where the understanding breaks down.
Ask your child to talk you through a problem they're stuck on. Often the issue isn't where it appears. A child who seems to struggle with long multiplication might actually have shaky times tables. A child who can't do fractions might have gaps in their understanding of division. Find the real sticking point and work there first.
Maths confidence builds through repetition over time, not cramming. Ten minutes a day will do more than an hour on a Sunday evening. The goal is to make maths a normal, low-stakes part of the day rather than a big stressful event.
Keep sessions short enough that they end before your child gets frustrated. Finishing on a success, even a small one, matters more than covering more ground.
One reason maths gets harder as children get older is that it becomes increasingly abstract. Numbers on a page are harder to grasp than something you can see or touch. If your child is stuck on a concept, try making it physical first.
Fractions make more sense when you're cutting an apple. Multiplication makes more sense with rows of objects. Even older children benefit from working through a new idea concretely before moving to written numbers. Schools use this approach deliberately; it's not "baby stuff," it's how mathematical understanding actually develops.
"I was never any good at maths either" is one of the most well-meaning and unhelpful things a parent can say. Children take their cues from the adults around them, and if maths comes with a sense of "some people just can't do this," they'll apply that to themselves quickly.
The same goes for frustration during homework. If it's getting tense, stop. Come back to it. A short break does more good than pushing through when emotions are running high for both of you.
Instead, try to frame difficulty as information rather than failure. "That one's tricky. Let's figure out why" is a very different message to "you should know this by now."
Maths gaps have a compounding effect. A child who struggles with Year 4 fractions will find Year 5 ratios harder. A child who never fully grasped place value will hit a wall when decimals arrive. The earlier a gap is addressed, the less catching up is required.
If you're trying at home but not seeing progress (or if homework is becoming a source of real stress) it's worth bringing in expert support. This isn't a last resort; it's just the most efficient way to close a specific gap with someone who knows exactly where to look and how to explain it.
At Primary Tutor Project, our tuition clubs work with small groups of 3–5 children, which means your child gets proper attention without the pressure of sitting one-to-one with a tutor. Our teachers are experienced in spotting exactly where understanding has broken down and building from there, not just drilling the surface problem. If you'd like to talk through where your child is and what kind of support would actually help, we offer a free assessment to get started.
The good news about maths is that it responds well to targeted work. Unlike some subjects where progress is gradual and hard to see, closing a specific maths gap tends to produce fairly quick results, and when a child who's been struggling suddenly starts to get it the confidence that follows tends to spread to the rest of their work too.
Book a free consultation with us today!
