Many people struggle with maths, with some trying their best to avoid the subject as much as possible. As such people grow up, they become parents themselves and have to help their children with math assignments and practicals. Unfortunately, their dislike for the subject makes them still try to wiggle away from doing it, in some cases pushing it to the other parent or adult if possible. Children, like sponges, pick up on non-verbal cues much more than we give them credit for and may absorb their parents’ dislike and/or phobia for the subject even before they have an opportunity to explore what it is about. 

 

While a lot of focus is on the role of teachers, researchers, and policymakers in the education system to design ways to make science and mathematics interesting to students of all ages, parents also have a huge role to play in ensuring that their children/wards do not shy away from these important subjects. Thankfully, there are practical applications for science and mathematics that can be engaged in outside the walls of the schools, and by researching resources such as online school reviews and others, parents might find practical applications of science and maths, as well as how to teach it to their children outside the pressure of structured school environment. This not only demystifies the subjects but also helps them look for practical ways to apply the subjects in their own little ways.

 

The knowledge of mathematics and science is important across every field of human endeavor. Parents serve as the template that children mostly try to follow subconsciously, so if a parent practically applies mathematics and science, such a person invites the child to do the same. In what ways can parents improve their own maths and science skills so as to become useful to their children? There is an abundance of online resources such as eCampus where they can learn the topics ahead of the children’s school assignments, which they can do by paying attention to their children’s course outlines. 

 

Parents can also improve their own maths and science skills, with an attendant effect on their children’s academics by learning to play games like poker, monopoly, and chess if they do not know how to, and incorporating these games into family time if they do play. These games help the players to develop skills such as analytics, a sense of probability, strategy, logical thinking, and problem-solving, all of which can be learned at any age. Learning alongside your children might even turn a problematic subject into an interesting one where your child competes with you to discover new things about different topics. Or, you could just allow your child to teach you what they learned in school, and as they teach you, it reinforces the knowledge and clarifies concepts in their minds, while you also learn a thing or two.

 

Conclusively, even as adults, we can find practical applications for mathematics and science in the home, in the division of chores, in exercising, and almost all of life’s activities. While children need the knowledge of maths and science to better prepare them for adulthood, parents can also benefit from the skills they learn to better navigate adulthood.