7 Simple Tricks to Help Your Child Fall in Love with Cambridge Maths
Struggling to get your child excited about Cambridge Math? Discover 7 effective tricks to help your child grow in confidence, curiosity, and love for mathematics.
PARENTS
Achiever Tandoh
7/18/20259 min read
7 Simple Tricks to Help Your Child Fall in Love with Cambridge Maths
There is no such thing as a "maths person."
There are only students who’ve been given the chance to grow their confidence and hence love for the subject and those who haven’t had the right kind of support yet. Like reading, cooking, or learning a new sport, loving maths is something that can be nurtured. It doesn’t come pre-installed.
Whether your child is dreading their next IGCSE Maths exam or simply zoning out in lessons, this post is here to help you change the narrative. I’ll walk you through 7 simple, psychology-backed tricks that parents and guardians can use to help their child reconnect with the subject and even begin to love it.
No gimmicks. No false promises. Just practical strategies that work for students, especially within the rigorous Cambridge Math framework.
Let’s dive in.
1. Start with Curiosity, Not Correctness
In most homes, maths revision is often approached like a checklist: "Did you get it right or wrong?"
What if you changed the question?
Instead of asking, “Did you get the answer?”, try asking:
“What made this question tricky?” or “Why do you think that method works?”
When you shift the focus from correctness to curiosity, you give your child room to breathe. They no longer feel like a failure for getting it wrong, they feel like a learner trying to figure something out.
Cambridge rewards method marks and logical reasoning, not just final answers. So, the more your child explains, reflects, and investigates, the better they actually perform.
Try this at home:
Encourage your child to “teach you” how they solved a problem, even if you already know the method.
Let them sketch ideas or talk through them aloud without interruption.
Praise their process just as much as the outcome.
When studying maths becomes a safe time for learning, not judgment, curiosity takes root and curiosity is the beginning of passion.
2. Make Cambridge Math Tangible
Here’s a harsh truth: abstract maths feels boring when it has no anchor in reality.
Cambridge Maths dives into topics like algebraic manipulation, transformations, and trigonometry. But for many students, these concepts feel disconnected from their daily lives. They’re just shapes and numbers on a whiteboard—irrelevant and forgettable.
But when you connect maths to the real world, something magical happens. It becomes visible. It becomes tangible. And most importantly, it becomes meaningful.
Here’s how you can help make it real:
Use percentages and discounts while shopping for clothes or sneakers: ask them “If these shoes cost R750 and they’re 30% off, how much will they cost now and how much are we saving?”
Talk about ratios and scaling when cooking: “If the recipe serves 4 people, what do we need to do to serve 6?”
Talk about probability in situations like: “What are the chances of picking a red sweet from this mixed bag?”
Point out angles and measurements in architecture, interior design or even when aligning a soccer free kick.
Social media followers over time? That’s a function: Ask “If your Facebook followers double every week, how many followers will you have after 10 weeks? Express this as a function of time.”
Skateboarding ramps or slide slopes at a playground? Those are trigonometry problems: “What’s the angle of elevation of this 2.5m high ramp if it is 6m long?”
The goal here isn’t to run a maths lesson at every opportunity, it’s to build awareness. Once students begin to see how maths shows up in their world, they stop asking, “What’s the point of this?”
They get the point.
And once they see it, it becomes harder to ignore and easier to enjoy.
3. Create a Judgement-Free Learning Zone
This might be the most powerful trick of all.
For many students, the hate for maths isn’t because maths is too difficult, it is an emotional response. It is caused by the tension they feel when you ask, “Did you revise today?” or when you glance at their marked test. It’s the heaviness of trying to meet expectations while quietly feeling lost.
If your child tenses up the moment you say, "let's do some revision," there might be hidden pressure they associate with maths. Maybe they fear disappointing you. Maybe they still carry past mistakes, embarrassment and shame in their minds from previous revision sessions. Cambridge Math is known for its rigor and sometimes, the pressure to “get it right” can overshadow the joy of learning.
To rebuild their confidence, you need to first create emotional safety. Here’s how:
Detach identity from results. A bad mark doesn’t mean they’re a bad student. Remind them: “This test doesn’t define you; it just shows us what to work on.”
Keep the pressure off. When helping with maths homework, soften your tone. Avoid raising eyebrows or sighing. Kids pick up on every signal, even subtle ones.
Let them try before stepping in. Resist the urge to fix their mistake right away. Ask, “Want to take another shot at this one?” Give them time to self-correct. That builds critical thinking and resilience.
Use a calm, empathetic tone. If they’re stuck on a topic like surds or completing the square, reassure them that confusion is part of the learning process. Encourage them instead of showing signs of disappointment.
When students feel emotionally safe, they open up. When they feel safe to be wrong, they become willing to try. And when they open up and try, real progress happens.
4. Break the Math into Small Wins
The Cambridge Maths syllabus is layered and fast-paced. It can feel overwhelming—especially when gaps in understanding accumulate. For a student it’s easy to feel defeated before they’ve even begun. Telling them to “revise maths” is like saying, “Go climb a mountain.” That’s when the brain shuts down. Motivation disappears. Confidence sinks.
Here’s how to reduce overwhelm, for every revision session:
Let them choose one topic or you choose for them (e.g. solving simultaneous equations).
Have them watch one focused tutorial, study a small section of the textbook or complete a topic specific worksheet.
Let them solve 3–5 progressively difficult problems.
Recognize and appreciate every correct step—not just full solutions. Did they remember to isolate x? Did they set up the equation correctly even if the answer was off? That’s progress.
End by letting them summarize what was learned in their own words.
This builds mastery one layer at a time. Momentum grows as students realize they can improve. Over time, confidence replaces confusion.
This approach rewires their brain to associate maths with success, not struggle.
5. Let a Tutor Be the Bridge
Sometimes, the best thing you can do is step back. Not because you don’t care, but because your child may need a different kind of voice.
And that’s not a failure on your part. In fact, recognizing this is a mark of emotional intelligence. Sometimes, the most loving thing you can do as a parent is step aside just enough to let someone else step in.
At Chimhanda Tutoring, we’ve seen this time and time again. Students who were stuck, stressed, and convinced they were "bad at maths" slowly began to thrive. Why?
Because a good cambridge math tutor has quite a lot to offer. They are:
A patient guide who explains tricky math concepts without judgment
A coach who tracks progress and sets realistic goals
A motivational presence who helps your child believe in their abilities agai
Someone your child can ask the “silly” questions they’re too afraid to ask in class or to ask you.
A tutor can break down complex ideas into bite-sized, easy to understand pieces. They fill gaps without judgment and rewire negative self-talk into constructive action. And sometimes, that small shift changes everything.
Want to see how this works? Book a free trial lesson with Chimhanda Tutoring and experience the difference yourself.
6. Build a Consistent (But Flexible) Routine
Cambridge students are busy. Maths often ends up rushed or skipped.
Instead of long, draining study sessions, create a short but sustainable rhythm that your child can actually stick to:
📅 30 focused minutes, 3–5 times a week – That’s it. Enough to build fluency without burning out.
🔁 Alternate between topics – One your child enjoys (like probability) followed by one that challenges them (like functions). This creates balance and builds confidence.
📝 Include a weekly past paper session – Even if it’s just one question or section, timed. It develops exam stamina and familiarizes them with the Cambridge question structure.
Flexibility is key. The goal isn’t discipline for its own sake, it’s to make maths less scary and more enjoyable. Life happens and that’s okay. The goal is to make maths a normal part of life. Consistency builds habits. Habits build skill. And skill builds confidence. Small, steady sessions build mastery better than inconsistent cramming ever will.
7. Encourage a Positive Mindset
This one’s subtle but powerful.
Many Cambridge Math students carry damaging narratives in their heads. They don’t struggle with Math because of a lack of ability; they struggle because of what they believe about their ability:
· “I’m just not a maths person.”
"I’m too far behind."
"It’s too late to catch up."
“I keep failing, what’s the point?”
These aren’t facts. They’re internalized fears, often planted by a single tough test, or a comparison to someone else. If your child carries any of the above limiting believes or something similar, encourage them to change the narrative like this:
“No one is a ‘maths person’. I can do this”
"I don’t understand this yet, but I can."
"Everyone has their own pace. It’s okay to take longer. What matters is progress."
"Tiny progress adds up. Every time I try, I get closer.”"
Better yet, model this as a parent. If you make a mistake in daily life, say out loud: "Ah, now I know for next time!"
Your child is always watching how you respond to challenges. Let them see that learning isn’t about getting it right the first time neither is it about it right all the time. It’s about staying in the game and keep putting in the effort.
Final Thoughts
Falling in love with maths doesn’t always start with excitement. Sometimes, it starts with consistency, safety, small wins, and the right kind of support.
If your child is starting to dread maths lessons or loses confidence with every new topic, don’t wait for a full breakdown. The earlier you intervene, the easier it is to reverse the emotional and academic toll.
A reliable Cambridge Math tutor might be the missing link, not just in grades, but in mindset.
At Chimhanda Tutoring, we specialize in helping Cambridge students not only improve their marks, but rebuild their confidence, clarity, and curiosity.
Book a free trial lesson and take the first step toward making your child fall in love with math.
Your child has the potential, what they need is the right kind of support. Because when students feel supported, maths starts to make sense. And when it makes sense… they start to believe they can do it.
And from there the love for maths follows.
You got this. We got you!
