According to a 2018 survey, almost 50 percent of kids “love or really like” math. By comparison, only about 25 percent of them say they “hate” it. The rest are mostly indifferent to math.
Those kids who hate math tend to really hate it, though. They’ll ask questions like “Why is math important?” and “When am I ever going to need to use this in real life?” when they’re struggling to work their way through a math problem.
If your child falls into this category, it’s important for you to stress how essential it is for them to learn math. Make sure you’re prepared to provide plenty of reasons when they ask either of the questions listed above.
Here are some of the ways in which math can benefit your child.
Develops Kids’ Analytical Thinking Skills
There has been a big emphasis placed on critical thinking in many schools. Students are often asked to read stories or watch videos and then form and share opinions on them. Some might argue that critical thinking has overshadowed analytical thinking.
But analytical thinking is still just as important today as it ever was. Those with strong analytical thinking skills are able to take complex problems and use a step-by-step approach to breaking them down and figuring them out from start to finish.
Math allows kids to develop these analytical thinking skills. It trains their brains to be able to spot a problem and get to the root of it, regardless of whether they’re working on a math test or dealing with a real-life issue.
Even if kids aren’t the best math students in the world, they can still improve their analytical thinking skills by leaps and bounds by learning math. Read more here about how you can get your child help with some of the more complex math problems.
Shows Kids How to Problem Solve
Most math teachers are men and women of few words. But there are three words that math teachers love that send shivers up their students’ spines: “Show your work.”
Kids today might not love the idea of showing their work when they’re trying to solve a math problem. But doing it does require them to learn how to problem solve as opposed to simply writing down an answer for each math problem.
When kids have to try and solve a math problem while showing their work, they’re forced to carefully consider each step that they take. It pushes them to focus in on what they’re doing as they try to get the right answer.
And if they don’t get the right answer in the end?
They can go back and see where they went wrong. There is real value in kids finding out the right ways to problem solve. It helps them both in math and in the real world.
Teaches Kids to Use Old Concepts to Learn New Ones
Learning how to do math is a never-ending process. From the time you learn how to count to the time you learn how to add and subtract to the time you dive head-first into trigonometry, you’re always using previous math lessons to expand your math knowledge.
This teaches kids how important it is to master one skill before moving on and developing another. If they don’t have an old concept down, they’ll have a tough time progressing to the next level when it comes to math.
Makes It Easier for Kids to Manage Money Later
A study conducted last year found that approximately 30% of Americans are stressed out about money all the time. And do you know why that is?
Part of it is because some people haven’t developed good money habits. They spend more than they make and end up driving themselves deeper and deeper into debt over time.
But part of it is also because some people aren’t able to do the simple addition and subtraction that it takes to maintain a monthly budget. It makes managing money a huge challenge for them.
Your child might not ever be able to get an A+ in the aforementioned trigonometry class. But when they have a good understanding of numbers and how they work, it can help build a bright future for them as far as money is concerned.
Applies to Everyday Life in So Many Ways
As an adult, you know how useful math is to you on a daily basis. You use math to:
● Tip a waiter at a restaurant
● Calculate how much a new shirt will cost when it has a “20 Percent Off!” tag on it
● See how much of a raise you’ll be getting when your job gives you a 5 percent increase in pay
● Filing your taxes and determining how much of a tax refund you may be eligible for.
● Figure out how many more episodes of Game of Thrones you can binge-watch before you start cutting into your 8 hours of sleep
When your child asks, “Why is math important?”, talk to them about all these examples. They might be surprised to hear how much you use math day in and day out throughout your life.
It’ll motivate them to take their math lessons more seriously and help them to see why math is so important to learn. They might still complain a little when they have to take an algebra test, but you should see some improvement in their attitude towards math.
Why Is Math Important? It’s Pretty Easy to See
If you’re having a hard time getting your child excited about math, you’re probably getting used to hearing, “Why is math important?”
Make that question a thing of the past by speaking with your child about how math will be beneficial to them. It’ll shine some new light on the importance of math and make them think twice about the way in which they’re approaching it.
Try not to talk about how you hate math, either. Even if you’re not a so-called “math person,” you can help your child embrace math by speaking positively of it.
Read our blog to learn about how music can also benefit your child in a big way.