The most interesting subject or should I say the most boring subject while growing up for many is mathematics. Agreed the love towards this subject is biased and there might be equal number of people who hate and love mathematics. I am among those who run a mile far from solving math sums. Growing up, I just wanted to study and practice any other subject than mathematics. Obviously, the neglect on the subject and less time spent for practice made me score less in my academics. Some like words while some might like the digits. So what can be the reason for some children to develop a dislike towards the subject? There are quite a lot of reasons when we think with the child’s perspective. Here are some of the reasons I found after talking to some busy little minds who wanted to do anything else than maths.

10. Boring teacher

Tellers are not teachers like wise all teachers are not good at what they do. A lot many of math teachers do not teach the subject with much of an enthusiasm. When a child starts going to school, teachers introduce a lot of things in learning and many follow simple methods. All they do is just a job for the teachers, whereas for a child, who just started going to school, learning is also kind of a play thing. Hence it is in the best interest of the teacher to introduce a love for calculations and numbers in a playful way. This interest is developed later on stages. The basic foundation is more important.

9. It’s either right or wrong

There is no make do with maths. It’s either you know how to solve the problems or you don’t know. In any other subjects, you might write half of the answer correct with some errors and for that you might get half of the marks. But in maths it’s either a right answer or its a wrong answer. So usually kids find it less interesting.

8. No stories

Well, we all want something nice to hear and a chance to dream. Building stories while we learn is a common way of teaching. Every subject has a story in some form or the other. Even science tells you a story about “how, why and what”. But it’s not the same with math. Although one might begin with a small introduction as who found it or how it started, math is all of facts and logic. Young children can find it difficult and might feel less interested.

7. Different methods to do a simple calculation

While I was making my daughter learn the simple calculation in her toddler days I told her 5*3=15, and that previous day while, we were playing, I made her add her winning points which was 10+5=15. Well, you can imagine the young minds confusion and question. Like this, there are so many methods of solving a simple mathematical sums in every stage of schooling. There is so much to learn, equations, graphs, exponential, calculus, logarithms, sequences and series, geometrical ideas, and applications such as chemical kinetics, ecology and catastrophe theory, mathematical genetics, and what not, the list never ends, because life is nothing but calculations every step. Yet some children with improper guidance can find it difficult to learn.

6. Wrong portions for wrong age

There are certain boundaries for everything and a child also has a boundary to learn things. Be it any age whether early elementary school level or in adolescent. Schools and college set certain things to learn as the portions which need to be covered by the teachers. But sometimes there is a possibility that the set portions are more to the age of the children and a child can find it difficult to learn at a set amount of time. At such a situation children can hate maths as it can become a burden to them.

5. Cannot memorize

Even today a lot many children are used to mug up their answers at least those of which they find it difficult to remember. Facts like dates and events will not change and it is important to remember them. Hence many find comfort in mugging their answers, but its not the same with maths. You can hardly memorize some of the formula’s but its application and solving a sum will always differ as the numbers differ.

4. Loosing a challenge

Most children like to keep winning and if there is something in which they cannot win they simply deny going on and keep trying. In the early stages, it is important to teach children that there is nothing difficult until unless they try to learn. When a child does not get the right answers while trying to do a math, it’s most likely they lose interest in the subject.

3. Influence of math haters

The most common reason for children to dislike math can be a simple see-do reaction of their parents are any strong influential person in their life. Children simply do the same things what their parent does and show interest in same things. So when anyone with whom the child spends more time with do not show much interest in numbers, children too can find it less interesting.

2. Fear of criticism

Most fear the humiliation of not getting the correct answer. Some children take such things challengingly to learn better while some hide in a shell and start hating everything about the subject. It is the responsibility of the teacher and parents to identify the child’s difficulty and make them feel comfortable to learn.

1. Difficult to understand

Learning the basics are most important in math or any other subject. When children find it hard to understand spending more time in practice and learning is required instead they do the opposite. Various concepts and methods of solving math are difficult as higher the classes go and children need to be determined to learn them.