Not every child learns maths the same way. A visual learner and an auditory learner can both struggle and succeed — but for completely different reasons. Here is how to figure out which approach works for your child.
I have tutored children who could recite their times tables perfectly but fell apart the moment a fraction appeared in a diagram. I have worked with others who could look at a shape and immediately understand its properties but couldn't remember a single multiplication fact. The maths was not the problem in either case. The teaching approach was.
Visual Learners
Visual learners need to see it before they can understand it. Abstract numbers on a page don't land until they are grounded in something physical or pictorial. For these children, fraction bars beat fraction rules. Number lines beat number sentences. Coloured blocks beat column arithmetic. If your child keeps asking 'but what does it look like?' — they are visual. Give them diagrams, drawings, and manipulatives before anything printed.
Kinaesthetic Learners
Kinaesthetic learners — the ones who learn by doing and touching — genuinely cannot absorb maths through passive instruction. They need to handle objects, build things, and move around. This isn't a learning disability; it is just a style. Let them sort and count physical objects. Let them pace while reciting times tables. Let them draw what's happening in a word problem. The physical engagement is not a distraction — it is the mechanism.
Auditory Learners
Some children lock in information through sound and rhythm. Times table songs, rhymes, and verbal repetition work much better for these children than silent reading or written practice. If your child hums while working or talks through problems out loud — encourage it. Don't tell them to be quiet; they are using their natural learning channel.
Children Who Struggle with Reading
Word problems are a particular challenge for children who have reading difficulties — not because they can't do the maths, but because they can't decode the question. For these children, reading the problem aloud to them (or using text-to-speech tools) levels the playing field dramatically. The maths ability is often entirely intact; the reading barrier just hides it.
The Child Who 'Gets It' Then Forgets It
This is one of the most common concerns I hear from parents: 'She understood it in the session but couldn't do it the next day.' Spaced repetition is the answer. Short, frequent revisiting of material is dramatically more effective than long, infrequent sessions. Ten minutes of review every few days beats an hour once a week, every time.
💡 Quick Tips
- ✓Identify your child's learning style first — visual, hands-on, or auditory — and choose tools accordingly
- ✓For visual learners: diagrams, number lines, fraction bars always before written rules
- ✓For kinaesthetic learners: physical objects, movement, drawing — never passive sitting
- ✓Use spaced repetition: 10 minutes every few days beats one long session per week
Ready to Put This Into Practice?
Try one of our free interactive math games — no sign-up required.
Explore All Games →