If your child comes home frustrated after a maths lesson, you’re not alone. Millions of parents across the UK sit at the kitchen table every evening wondering, “How do I actually help without making things worse?”
The good news? You don’t need a degree in mathematics. What you need is the right approach, the right tools, and a little consistency.
This guide is written for parents, carers, and teachers supporting children in KS1 and KS2 (ages 5–11). You’ll find practical strategies, step-by-step guidance, and fun ways to build your child’s maths confidence — including how a simple tool like Hit the Button can transform boring drill practice into something children actually want to do.
By the end of this article, you’ll know exactly what to do at home to help your child not just cope with maths — but genuinely enjoy it.
What Does “Struggling with Maths” Actually Look Like?
Before fixing a problem, it helps to understand it clearly.
Children struggle with maths in different ways. Some find it hard to remember number facts. Others understand concepts in the classroom but freeze when working alone. Some rush through problems and make careless errors. Others are so afraid of getting it wrong that they don’t try at all.
Common signs your child is struggling:
- Avoids maths homework or gets very upset about it
- Says “I’m just bad at maths” and gives up quickly
- Takes a very long time on basic calculations
- Makes the same types of errors repeatedly
- Can’t recall times tables or number bonds under pressure
Here’s the important thing to understand: struggling with maths is not a sign of low intelligence. It is almost always a sign of a gap in foundational knowledge — and gaps can be filled.
Why Maths Fluency Matters (More Than You Think)
In School (KS1 & KS2 Curriculum)
The National Curriculum for England expects children to build mental maths fluency from Year 1 onwards. By Year 4, pupils are expected to know all their times tables up to 12×12. By Year 6, they should be applying these facts quickly in multi-step problems.
When a child is slow to recall basic facts, they use up precious working memory just getting through the arithmetic — leaving little mental energy for actual problem-solving.
In Real Life
Quick mental maths matters beyond school. Calculating change in a shop, splitting a bill, working out how long a journey takes — these are everyday skills rooted in the same number sense built in primary school.
In Confidence and Mindset
Research in educational psychology consistently shows that when children experience small, repeated wins with numbers, their overall attitude to learning improves. Confidence in one area spills over into others.
The goal isn’t just getting the right answers — it’s building a child who believes they can work things out.
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Support Your Child at Home
Step 1: Identify the Specific Gap
Don’t try to help with everything at once. Sit with your child for 10 minutes and work out exactly where the difficulty lies.
Try this: Ask your child to count in 2s, 5s, and 10s. Then ask a few simple addition and subtraction questions. See where they hesitate.
Example: If your child can count in 5s confidently but stumbles when asked “What is 5 × 7?”, the gap is between skip-counting and multiplication recall — a very common and fixable issue.
Mini tip: Write down the specific facts they struggled with. Target those first.
Step 2: Build on What They Already Know
Children learn best when new knowledge connects to something familiar. Never start from scratch when there’s existing knowledge to build on.
Example: If your child knows 2 × 5 = 10, use that to work out 4 × 5 (just double it!). This kind of reasoning builds real mathematical thinking, not just rote memorisation.
Mini tip: Always say “What do you already know that might help?” before diving into a new problem. This trains children to use their existing knowledge independently.
Step 3: Make Practice Short, Daily, and Low-Pressure
Forty-five minutes of stressed maths practice once a week is far less effective than 10 minutes of calm practice every day.
Daily repetition builds automaticity — the ability to recall facts without conscious effort, the same way we recall our own phone number.
Example routine:
- 5 minutes of Hit the Button maths game (number bonds or times tables)
- 5 minutes of written or verbal practice on the same topic
- 1 minute reviewing any mistakes together — without judgment
Mini tip: Keep the session positive. End on something the child can do, even if the session was hard.
Step 4: Use Concrete Resources Before Moving to Abstract
Many children struggle because they’re asked to work abstractly (numbers on a page) before they’ve understood the concept concretely.
Use physical objects: Coins, buttons, pasta pieces — anything countable.
Example: Teaching 3 × 4? Put out three groups of four objects. Count them together. Then write 3 × 4 = 12. The abstract notation now has a physical memory attached to it.
Once they understand why, recalling the fact becomes much easier.
Step 5: Celebrate Effort, Not Just Correct Answers
This sounds simple, but it makes an enormous difference. Children who are praised for effort and strategy (rather than just correct answers) develop what psychologists call a growth mindset.
Say things like:
- “I can see how hard you’re thinking about that.”
- “You didn’t know that last week — look at you now.”
- “Getting it wrong is how we figure out what to practise.”
Easy Tricks and Shortcuts for Common Maths Topics
Times Tables
- The 9 times table finger trick: Hold up ten fingers. For 9 × 3, fold down your 3rd finger. You’ll see 2 fingers to the left and 7 to the right. Answer: 27.
- The 5 times table: Always ends in 0 or 5. Half the number, then add a zero (5 × 8 = half of 8 is 4, so 40).
- Doubles and near-doubles: If you know 6 × 6 = 36, then 6 × 7 is just one more group of 6 — so 42.
Number Bonds
- Number bonds to 10 are the foundation of everything. Practise them until they’re instant: 1+9, 2+8, 3+7, 4+6, 5+5.
- Once secure to 10, number bonds to 20 follow naturally.
Division
- Division is just multiplication in reverse. If your child knows 7 × 8 = 56, they automatically know 56 ÷ 8 = 7 and 56 ÷ 7 = 8. Teach them to see the connection.
Common Mistakes Children Make (and How to Fix Them)
| Mistake | Why It Happens | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Counting on fingers for every calculation | No automatic recall developed yet | Daily fluency practice with Hit the Button maths game |
| Reversing digits (e.g., writing 21 for 12) | Place value not fully understood | Use physical tens and units blocks |
| Forgetting carrying in addition | Skipping steps under pressure | Slow down; write every step clearly |
| Mixing up × and ÷ | Conceptual confusion | Return to concrete objects; show the relationship visually |
| Guessing randomly when stuck | Anxiety or lack of strategy | Teach the “what do I know?” habit |
| Getting times tables right slowly but not quickly | Knowledge without fluency | Timed games and repetition — not punishment |
| Giving up after one wrong answer | Fixed mindset | Praise effort; reframe mistakes as information |
Fun Ways to Practise Maths at Home
Around the House
- Cooking: “We need 3 eggs for one batch. How many for two batches?”
- Shopping: “These are 3 for £2. How much is one?”
- Time: “It’s 3:15 now. We need to leave in 45 minutes. What time is that?”
Card and Dice Games
- Snap with a twist: Call out the sum of two flipped cards instead of “Snap!”
- Dice multiplication: Roll two dice, multiply the numbers. First to call it correctly wins.
Verbal Games in the Car
- Times table tennis: You say “3 ×”, child says “4 =”, you say “12”. Keep going.
- Beat the clock: How many number bonds to 20 can they say in 60 seconds?
Classroom Activities (For Teachers)
- Use a whiteboard mini-quiz at the start of each lesson — 5 rapid-fire questions
- Pair children for peer quizzing using flashcards
- Introduce Hit the Button as a warm-up tool — projected on the board for whole-class play
Practise This Skill Using Hit the Button
One of the most effective — and genuinely enjoyable — ways to build maths fluency is using Hit the Button.
Hit the Button is a free, interactive maths game that focuses on number bonds, times tables, division facts, doubling, halving, and more. It’s widely used in UK primary schools and loved by children precisely because it feels like a game, not a worksheet.
Here’s what makes Hit the Button so effective:
Speed: The game runs against a timer, which trains children to recall facts quickly — exactly the kind of fluency tested in the Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check (MTC).
Accuracy: Children must press the correct answer from multiple options. Random guessing doesn’t work. The game rewards real knowledge.
Confidence: Each correct answer gives instant positive feedback. Children can clearly see themselves improving over sessions. That visible progress is enormously motivating.
Targeted practice: You can select exactly which times table, number bond set, or skill to practise. This means you can zero in on the specific gap identified in Step 1 above.
How to use it at home:
- Sit with your child for the first session — make it fun, not a test
- Start with a topic they’re fairly confident in — early wins build motivation
- Gradually introduce the harder sets they need to work on
- Set a small challenge: “Can you beat your score from yesterday?”
- Keep sessions to 5–10 minutes — quality over quantity
Whether you call it the Hit the Button game, Hit the Button times tables, or simply press the button maths — it’s one of the most effective free tools available for primary-age children.
Practice Questions
Try these with your child. Start with the ones that feel manageable, then work up.
Number Bonds to 10:
- 6 + ___ = 10
- ___ + 3 = 10
Number Bonds to 20: 3. 13 + ___ = 20 4. ___ + 8 = 20
Times Tables (Mixed): 5. 4 × 6 = ___ 6. 7 × 8 = ___ 7. 9 × 3 = ___
Division: 8. 36 ÷ 4 = ___ 9. 56 ÷ 7 = ___
Doubling and Halving: 10. Double 14 = ___ 11. Half of 36 = ___
Challenge: 12. A baker makes 6 trays of biscuits. Each tray has 9 biscuits. How many biscuits altogether?
Answers: 1) 4 · 2) 7 · 3) 7 · 4) 12 · 5) 24 · 6) 56 · 7) 27 · 8) 9 · 9) 8 · 10) 28 · 11) 18 · 12) 54
Expert Tips for Parents and Teachers
For Parents:
- Don’t show your own maths anxiety. If you say “I was always rubbish at maths,” your child hears that it’s acceptable to give up. Stay positive even if you find it difficult too.
- Separate homework help from maths practice. Helping with homework is reactive. Daily practice is proactive. Both matter, but proactive practice is what builds fluency.
- Talk to the teacher. If your child is consistently struggling, ask which specific areas they need to strengthen. Most teachers will give you a focused list.
- Use the same vocabulary as school. If the teacher calls it “partitioning,” use that word at home too. Consistency reduces confusion.
For Teachers:
- Identify children who are slow at recall early — don’t wait for them to fall behind in written work
- Use Hit the Button projected on the board as a whole-class starter — it normalises speed practice without singling anyone out
- Build in “retrieval practice” — brief, low-stakes quizzes on previously taught material significantly improve long-term retention
- Communicate specific targets to parents — vague advice like “practise times tables” is less effective than “we’re working on the 7s and 8s this week”
Advanced Insight: Why Fluency and Understanding Must Go Together
Here’s something many articles miss entirely: fluency without understanding is fragile, and understanding without fluency is slow.
A child who memorises 7 × 8 = 56 but doesn’t know what multiplication means will fall apart when faced with a word problem. Equally, a child who understands multiplication perfectly but takes 10 seconds to recall 7 × 8 will struggle to complete a test paper.
The goal is both — and they reinforce each other.
Educational psychologist Stanislas Dehaene’s research on the “number sense” shows that when children build strong mental number representations, mathematical reasoning becomes significantly easier. The brain literally becomes more efficient at processing numerical information with practice.
This is why tools like Hit the Button maths are most powerful when combined with conceptual teaching. The game builds automaticity. The teaching builds understanding. Together, they build a mathematician.
Think of it like learning to read: you need to understand what words mean, but you also need to read them instantly. Phonics builds decoding fluency. Maths games build numerical fluency. Neither replaces comprehension — both support it.
You can also practise related skills like number bonds, doubling and halving, and mental addition strategies alongside times tables for a well-rounded approach.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is Hit the Button and is it suitable for my child? Hit the Button is a free online maths game designed for KS1 and KS2 children (ages 5–11). It covers number bonds, times tables, division, doubling, and halving. It’s suitable for most primary-age children and widely used in UK schools.
Q: How often should my child use Hit the Button maths at home? Five to ten minutes daily is ideal. Short, frequent sessions are far more effective than longer, infrequent ones for building fluency and recall.
Q: My child knows their times tables slowly — is that still okay? Slow recall is much better than no recall, but the goal is speed alongside accuracy. The Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check tests whether children can answer within 6 seconds. Regular timed practice with the Hit the Button game is one of the best ways to improve response speed.
Q: Can Hit the Button help with number bonds as well as times tables? Yes. The game includes dedicated modes for number bonds to 10 and 20, making it useful for KS1 children as well as older pupils working on multiplication.
Q: What if my child gets upset or frustrated during maths practice? Stop the session calmly. Never force it. Return to something they can do confidently to end on a positive note. If frustration is frequent, speak to the class teacher — there may be a deeper gap to address with targeted support.
Q: Is there a difference between Hit the Button and other maths games? Hit the Button focuses specifically on mental maths fluency — timed recall of key number facts. This is different from problem-solving or reasoning games. Both are valuable, but fluency practice is what Hit the Button does best.
Q: How do I know which times table to practise first? Start with 2s, 5s, and 10s — these are the easiest and most useful. Then move to 3s, 4s, and 6s. The 7s, 8s, and 9s are typically the hardest and should come last once the others are secure.
Conclusion: Small Steps, Big Results
Helping a child who struggles with maths isn’t about dramatic interventions or expensive tutors. It’s about consistency, encouragement, and the right tools.
Start by identifying the specific gap. Build on what your child already knows. Keep daily practice short and positive. Use concrete resources before abstract ones. And make use of brilliant free tools like Hit the Button to turn number practice into something children look forward to.
Remember: every child who struggles with maths today is capable of becoming confident and fluent with the right support. The gap between where they are and where they need to be is almost always bridgeable — with patience, the right approach, and daily practice.
You’ve got everything you need. Now go help them hit that button.