Did you know that 23% of parents of children aged 5 - 15 reported that their eldest child felt anxious when solving a maths problem? 

Maths anxiety is as a negative emotional reaction to mathematics, leading to varying degrees of helplessness, panic and mental disorganisation that arises among some people when faced with a mathematical problem.

Children who have Maths anxiety may exhibit the following behaviours:

• Negative self-talk.
• Lack of motivation to work on Math.
• Not studying regularly.
• Putting off Math homework until the last minute.
• Panic when doing Math homework or tests.
• Difficulty remembering Math facts.
• Relying on memorization rather than understanding.

The good news is that Maths anxiety can be overcome!

Maths often causes more anxiety than other school subjects. Unsurprisingly, lots of adults have (and still may) suffered from Maths anxiety themselves. Many of our own school community report that their own experience of learning Maths at school was not one they look back at with fondness. Interestingly, they don’t treat reading the same as we do maths. For example we don’t say 

“Oh I was never any good at reading.” 

or

“Reading is too difficult for me.”

And yet, many of us say the very same things about maths. 

9 Ways to deal with Maths Anxiety at home