Maths anxiety is a real concern for many children and can significantly affect their confidence and performance in the classroom. Maths, in particular, can be a difficult subject for many children, but there are ways to help them manage their worries and boost their self-esteem.
This article delves into what maths anxiety is, what the signs and symptoms are, and how parents, teachers, and carers can help.
What is Maths Anxiety?
Maths anxiety is a feeling of fear or distress that is experienced when faced with or even just thinking about maths. It is a form of performance anxiety and can occur even when the person being faced with the problem is competent in the subject. Maths anxiety can lead to avoidance of the subject, slumping morale, and a negative attitude that can be damaging to a child’s educational experiences.
What Causes Maths Anxiety?
Maths anxiety can come from several sources. It can be a result of formal experiences in the classroom—including setbacks early in schooling such as failing tests, getting poor grades, and not being able to keep up with the pace of the curriculum. It can also come from parental influence, with parents who themselves were not very successful in maths passing on their negative experiences and beliefs to their children.
Unhelpful or negative messages from teachers can also play a role in developing anxiety around maths.
What are the Signs and Symptoms of Maths Anxiety?
The signs and symptoms of maths anxiety vary from person to person but can include physical symptoms such as headaches and shortness of breath, feeling overwhelmed or shut down when faced with fractions, difficulty solving concepts, making careless mistakes even when the student is competent, frustration and irritability, and avoidance of the subject—including having trouble concentrating and staying on task when involved in maths-related activities.
How can Parents, Teachers, and Carers Help?
There are several things that parents, teachers, and carers can do to help children who are suffering from maths anxiety. It is important to create a positive and encouraging environment. Constructive feedback rather than shaming or punishing is essential—children should be reminded that mistakes are a natural part of learning and are part of the learning process.
Acknowledging and praising achievements, no matter how small, is also important. Practical strategies such as breaking down the task into smaller, manageable chunks, using visuals to demonstrate concepts, and taking breaks can also be very helpful in calming anxious children.
It is also important to provide children with a safe, relaxed space to tackle maths-related activities. Another way to help anxious children is to use relaxation techniques such as deep breathing. Next is cognitive reframing—helping the child to view their concerns through a more positive lens.
Encouraging positive self-talk and avoiding terms such as “stupid” or “wrong” when referring to mistakes helps children to recognise their true potential. Finally, it is important that children receive the necessary support and help needed to understand the maths concept, as this helps to reduce their anxiety.
Helpful Resources
There are numerous online resources, books, and organisations that can help anxious children in maths or, overall, combat anxiety. Happy Numbers is an online learning program that helps children to understand maths in a fun and interactive way.
There are a variety of interactive tools and games to break down maths concepts into easier and simpler pieces. Maths Explained is another online resource with videos explaining so many topics in maths and helping children understand difficult concepts. Khan Academy is a popular online learning platform with instructional tutorial videos, worksheets, and practice questions to help boost the skills of struggling children.
National Numeracy is dedicated to combatting maths anxiety and raising confidence in maths. Finally, Maths-Whizz is a tutoring program that helps children master the basics of maths.
They cater to all students from primary level to GCSEs (England), and also provide support for A-Levels (England). The program has been designed to provide extra tuition to those in need, with specialised lessons and comprehensive support.
Conclusion
Maths anxiety is a real concern for many children, but there are ways to help them manage their anxieties and help boost their confidence. Parents, teachers, and carers can create a positive environment, provide constructive feedback and praise, break down tasks or problems into smaller, manageable chunks, use visuals, help the child to view their concerns through a more positive lens, and provide the necessary support to understand the maths concept. There are also a range of online resources and tutoring programs which can provide extra help and tuition to those in need.
With the right support and techniques, children can reduce their anxiety and improve their performance in maths.