Parent-Guided Printable Learning
Book cover: a parent and a child smiling over an open book with colorful blocks. Title: When Math Feels Scary.

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When Math Feels Scary

A Parent's Guide to Math Anxiety, Patient Practice, and Helping Your Child Try Again

When math makes your child freeze, avoid it, or say "I can't," what actually helps? This plain-language guide explains math anxiety, missing foundations and learning differences, what the research found (and where studies disagree), how to help without taking over, and when to ask for a tutor or a school evaluation. Written by a founder who was afraid of math as a child and still is.

Format
PDF and EPUB · 6 × 9 in
Length
86 pages
Age range
For parents of children roughly 5 to 11
Made for
Parents and caregivers

About this book

When math makes your child freeze, avoid it, or say "I can't," what actually helps? This plain-language guide explains math anxiety, missing foundations and learning differences, what the research found (and where studies disagree), how to help without taking over, and when to ask for a tutor or a school evaluation. Written by a founder who was afraid of math as a child and still is.

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Contents

  1. Why Do Some Children Avoid Math? One Founder's Story of Hiding From Numbers
  2. What Does Math Anxiety Look and Feel Like in a Child?
  3. Is It Math Anxiety, Missing Foundations, or a Learning Difference?
  4. Does a Parent's Own Math Anxiety Rub Off on Children? What the Research Actually Found
  5. How Do Children Understand a Math Idea? Using Objects, Pictures, Words and Symbols
  6. How Can a Parent Help With Math Without Taking Over?
  7. How Often Should a Child Practice Math? Small Challenges and Planned Returns
  8. What Should a Parent Do When a Child Gets a Math Problem Wrong?
  9. When Should You Get a Tutor or Ask the School for an Evaluation?
  10. What Math Activities Can You Do at Home With Everyday Materials? A Parent Activity Bank
  11. How Can You Tell Whether a Child Is Making Progress in Math?
  12. What Is Rainbow Boo Boo and How Do Its Companion Pages Fit In?

Look inside

Disclaimer page explaining the book's purpose and limits. Disclaimer First page of Chapter 2 about how math anxiety can feel for a child. Chapter 2 First page of Chapter 9 about tutors and school evaluations. Chapter 9 First home activity with buttons and bowls. Home activity

Common questions

What is math anxiety in children?

A feeling of tension, worry or fear around math. It describes a feeling, not a measure of ability.

Can a parent tell what is behind a child's math difficulty?

Not from one worksheet or behavior alone. The book offers questions to help organize what a parent notices and when to ask for support.

What is inside When Math Feels Scary?

The guide has 12 chapters, home activities, cited sources and ideas for talking with a tutor or school.

Can I buy or download the book here?

Not yet. This bookstore is a preview and does not provide the book files.

About the author

Pop Buchanan is the founder of POPR Technologies Inc. He wrote this guide to share research in plain language and offer gentle ideas for trying again. He is not a teacher, a parent or a clinician.

Disclosure: The author founded POPR Technologies Inc., which is developing Rainbow Boo Boo. The book stands on its own. Artificial intelligence tools assisted with research, drafting and typesetting. The author set the purpose and owns the content.

Read about Rainbow Boo Boo · Browse the IdeaSteps shelf

A parent guide. Not medical advice. Read at your own pace.

If a child's distress is severe or you are worried about their safety, contact a pediatrician or emergency services. In the US, call or text 988.

Sources cited in the book

Primary research

Official guidance

Summaries and press releases