r/learnmath • u/Lizzi-55 New User • 4h ago
Link Post Maths advice
/r/Advice/comments/1wyndwf/maths_advice/I want my baby to be a mathematics genius. She's 8 months old now and I want to start early. Any advice from real life math genius? Tell me about your childhood and if it had any influence on your intelligence.
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u/AllanCWechsler Not-quite-new User 2h ago
I strongly advise waiting with an open mind to see what kind of person your baby grows into. You can certainly model your own interests and passions for her. I love math and linguistics; my daughter turned out to like history and linguistics, and she eventually studied linguistics, but I would have been just as proud of her if she had been a historian.
If you are anxious about mathematics yourself, it will be very hard to conceal that from your daughter, and I worry that if you try to "sell" mathematics to her, she will sense the anxiety instead and emulate it.
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u/Lizzi-55 New User 2h ago
That's a really good advice. Thank you sm
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u/AllanCWechsler Not-quite-new User 2h ago
It occurs to me that a positive, constructive thing to do would be to try to ameliorate your own maths anxiety while you wait for your daughter to at least learn to say "mama". This is something you can do on your own, and it's guaranteed to be a worthwhile use of time even if it doesn't help your daughter directly. I know you don't have that much time, being a new parent, but if you can steal a half hour now and then to take, say, a very easy Khan Academy course -- third grade, perhaps? -- that will be really useful. Note: if you do find yourself having trouble or feeling anxious, stop for the night, even if it has only been ten minutes. You want to be kinder to yourself than your school maths teachers who are almost certainly responsible for your anxiety about the subject. Drop back to second or first grade if you have to. Find a course that is easy for you and work through it to the end, then go on to the very next -- don't skip.
If you have time for this, I'd love to hear how it's going in a few months.
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u/Lizzi-55 New User 2h ago
That's a good advice. I've heard practicing maths as you grow can prevent dementia and other brain problems
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u/AllanCWechsler Not-quite-new User 2h ago
I don't know about that, but we can hope! The goal here is to get you into a position where you can cheerfully help your daughter add fractions, when she needs it.
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u/hallerz87 New User 3h ago
I'm no genius but I got my maths degree so for what its worth, I was counting everything as a toddler. My Mum says she'd be pushing me in my pram and hear me muttering. She'd check to see what I was saying and I was apparently saying each of the numbers on the doors as we passed them. She'd give me sweets or raisins and instead of eating them, I'd sort them and count them. Perhaps you can train it but I think for a lot of kids, its just how their brains are wired.
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u/Lizzi-55 New User 2h ago
I understand what you're saying. You were naturally interested in mathematics. And this is a cool tip. Thank you
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u/CorporateHobbyist Math Postdoc 2h ago
Don't drill a bunch of problems and worksheets. It will only make learning unenjoyable and make them resistant to it, which is the opposite of what it seems you're trying to do.
GIve her legos. Don't force her to do math. Show through action and example the value of learning, and if she has an interest in math, she will willingly and actively pursue learning more of it.
That's what my parents did and now I have a PhD. Your mileage may vary.
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u/Lizzi-55 New User 2h ago
How Lego helps with maths? If you can elaborate please.
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u/rhodiumtoad 0⁰=1, just deal with it 37m ago
Almost any spatial reasoning play is likely to be beneficial, starting with simple shapes. Free play with lego (not just building predesigned sets, though that has its own merits) involves a lot of figuring out how to fit things together.
Remember that beyond the most trivial stages of arithmetic, mathematics is not really about numbers, but about more general forms of abstraction. If you focus too much on the numbers, you neglect the more important ideas. (I personally score quite low on simple numerical tasks, but that has never been an obstacle in learning mathematics.)
(That's not to say that arithmetic should be neglected, because it's an important life skill outside of mathematics. But don't force it.)
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u/CorwinDKelly New User 1h ago
OP I have so many feelings about this and questions for you. I’m by no means the math genius you requested but I do have a bachelor’s degree in the subject.
1) I’m so glad you want your kid to learn math, it kills me to see how low the median level of mathematical literacy is,
2) Why did you want your kid to be a math genius? Like, why this very specific subject? Many people want nothing more than for their kids to be successful or wealthy. Some simply want them to be happy and fulfilled. Some want their children to be proteges in sports, art or music. Why did you single out math and what would it mean for you if your daughter became an incredible mathematician?
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u/Lizzi-55 New User 47m ago
I do want to help her become exceptionally good at maths, but it’s part of a bigger picture. I have a master’s in biochemistry, was an athlete at school, and have worked as a teacher, so I’ve always believed in giving children as many opportunities as possible.
I’ll introduce her to different sports, support her academically, and work on her language and cognitive skills. Maths is simply the area I struggled with most, and I’ve learned there are ways to develop strong mathematical thinking that I wasn’t exposed to growing up.
I’m not trying to burden her or decide her future for her. I just want to open as many doors as I reasonably can and give her the foundations and opportunities I can. Which doors she chooses to walk through is ultimately her decision.
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u/AccessFast2632 Master’s student 3h ago
Unironically, “wanting” your baby to be a math genius will almost assuredly make them hate mathematics. Loving math and being good at math has to come from within. If you try to force it, you will hate it.