Maths Day Special: 5 Easy Ways Parents Can Make Maths Fun for Kids Under 10

For many millennials, maths was the subject that demanded extra effort. Practice was relentless, fear was common, and scoring a ‘centum’ often felt like the only measure of success.

Today, those same millennials are parents. And when it comes to helping their children with maths, old anxieties often resurface.

On National Mathematics Day, observed on 22 December 2025, The Better India shares five simple, everyday ways parents can make maths learning engaging, relaxed, and accessible for children under 10. These ideas fit easily into daily routines and help children build comfort with numbers long before pressure sets in.

Here are a few ways to weave maths into everyday life so children begin to enjoy the process of learning.

1) Bring maths into daily life without calling it ‘maths’

Heading to the grocery store? Pick 10 things they love and tell your child you have Rs 200, then ask if it is possible to buy all of these. Parents, pause here and wait for your child to do the maths.

On a vacation? Ask your child, if we leave from our resort at 10 am and reach our sightseeing spot at 11:30 am, how long are we travelling? Let them share their answers. Make it a fun conversation in the car. This also helps beat boredom while travelling.

You can also teach maths in the kitchen. Make a sandwich with cucumbers and tomatoes, and ask them to pick four pieces of cucumber and two pieces of tomato. Then ask them how many vegetable pieces their sandwich has.

2) Use games, not worksheets

Millennial parents are used to worksheets, simply because that is how they were taught in school. For a change, if parents use games at home to teach maths concepts, children may show more interest and enthusiasm.

Board games like Ludo, Monopoly, and Uno naturally introduce counting, addition, and strategy. Dice games also help children practise quick mental maths without realising they are doing it.

Other activities that help are:

• LEGO or blocks → patterns, symmetry, area

• Measuring furniture → length, perimeter

• Sorting coins → value, grouping, counting.
  

These activities encourage hands-on learning and keep children engaged.

3) Use technology

Phones, smart TVs and iPads are familiar gadgets for children nowadays. With these devices, parents can show their children simple maths techniques explained in YouTube videos, or use timers on phones to time their work and track their progress through available apps.

Important tip: Ensure the use of screens or technology is short, playful, and under adult supervision.

4) Tell stories with numbers

Who does not like stories? Adding numbers to them makes maths feel imaginative and approachable.

Try involving characters your child already loves. For instance, Peppa Pig asks for two pancakes, Daddy Pig wants three, and George wants one. How many pancakes should Mummy Pig make for breakfast?

Pausing mid-story to ask questions invites children to think, respond, and stay involved. Familiar characters often lead to eager participation and confident answers.

5) Make maths a shared experience

When parents, siblings, and cousins are involved, children express interest too. Settle down for dinner at the table and have challenging conversations around maths. Pick a problem and encourage children to think aloud and answer. It is okay to get a wrong answer. The idea of this exercise is to involve children and encourage them to think out of the box.

Address sibling conflict by finding a solution rather than creating competition, and organise a maths scavenger hunt at home on weekends. While at play, children learn best.

With these practices, a child can easily get over the fear of maths. Loving the subject is not the goal. Comfort and confidence matter more. When parents work through their own anxieties, children often follow with ease.

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: thebetterindia.com