Kids and math don’t always mix well, but math skills are some of the most important core concepts they learn in school. One way that parents can help their children learn math more easily is by making it more enjoyable.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, there aren’t enough young adults entering STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields to sustain our technological needs. While the reasons for this are varied and complex, one contributing factor is that many kids perceive STEM fields — math in particular — as difficult or uninteresting. What can parents do to change these perceptions for their own children?

Turn Math Into a Game
You can help your child think of math as enjoyable even before he or she gets to school, with math activities such as games and songs. Simple activities such as counting rhymes, sorting, and sequencing games are ideal for introducing mathematical concepts to preschoolers.

Another option is to combine math with activities your child already likes doing. For example, if your child loves to help in the kitchen, that’s a great opportunity to introduce concepts such as addition, subtraction and fractions, to provide him or her with concrete examples.

Show How Math Is Meaningful
Money, time, distance and similar concepts are things we work with every day, and they’re concepts with which math goes hand-in-hand. This means there are opportunities every day to show your child how math is an integral part of everyday life. When children can clearly see a purpose in what they’re learning, it makes them more eager to learn. Shopping activities at the grocery store, for example, are a great way to illustrate that math has importance in the real world.

Lead by Example
Finally, if you find math difficult or uninteresting, try not to let this affect how you talk about math with your children. They will pick up on your own attitude quickly, and this can easily dampen their enthusiasm.

Need Math Tutoring?
For some kids, math is simply a subject that doesn’t come easy. Every child has his or her own strengths, and if math isn’t one of them, it can destroy a child’s eagerness to learn.

Growing Stars can help. As pioneers in the field of live online tutoring, we have a track record that proves our ability to provide quality online math tutoring for your children. We can provide an online math tutor who can quickly assess your children’s needs and get them started on the road to learning and understanding.