By Joseph Staples // SWNS
NEWS COPY w/ VIDEO & INFOGRAPHIC
More than half (56%) of parents say they feel hopeless when trying to help their kid with homework, according to new research. Two-thirds of parents will even turn to Google to figure out how to help their child with homework.
A survey of 2,000 American parents with school-aged children asked how sharp their math skills were and how they approach their kid’s homework. Results found that although 79% of parents can recall the things they learned in school, nearly as many (70%) parents say it’s harder for them to solve their kid’s math homework today.
Putting those skills to the test, an average 42% of them were able to solve our equations correctly. Barely half (51%) of parents recall the proper order of operations (PEMDAS).
When asked to solve 8/2(2+2), two-thirds of parents got the correct answer, which is 16. When asked to then solve 9-3/(⅓)+1, only 17% used the proper method to solve the equation, with the correct answer being 1.
Three-quarters of American parents say they can do basic math in their heads. On average, they will use mental math five times per day. Yet just as many (75%) will still use a calculator to double-check their mental math.
The survey, conducted by OnePoll and commissioned by Photomath, a homework assistance app designed to explain math problems and teach math concepts, found that while parents may feel comfortable in their own math skills, they are less confident helping their kids with homework.
On average, kids will ask their parents for homework help five times per week. When this happens, more than six in 10 (63%) of parental couples will negotiate who is going to help their child with homework. For 85% of them, the negotiations have led to a full-fledged argument.
Fifty-four percent of parents will try to find a way to get out of helping their kid with homework. Parents have claimed to be too tired, busy doing chores, stuck on work calls, and in one instance, “I’ve claimed I need to go emergency grocery shopping.”
“As a parent myself, I know these feelings well,” says Jennifer Lee, Vice-President at Photomath. “We want our kids to succeed, but when difficult subjects like math come up, it’s not unusual for us to feel hesitation or even anxiety come homework time. Parents don’t want to lead their kids astray. Since the pandemic started, we’ve seen over 3x the number of new parents download the app each week as they increasingly look for new ways to help their kids in school, even from home.”
More than 60 percent (65%) of parents say they don’t remember math being so hard when they were in school. When asked what best describes why math seems harder, 56% of parents said their child is learning math differently than they did.
For 41% of parents, math seems harder because they only retained math that they use on a daily basis. Meanwhile, 39% of parents didn’t keep up-to-date with math at all.
Two-thirds of parents said classes and subjects they struggled with in school give them stress/tension even now when they are helping their kid with homework.
“Seeing parents wanting to help their kids but not knowing how is exactly why homework assistance apps like Photomath exist and are so helpful,” says Jennifer Lee. “We don’t just solve problems, we break them down step-by-step; really explaining how a certain problem can be solved. By doing this, we can help parents refresh concepts learned decades ago and pave the way for parents so they don't feel hopeless or helpless when their kids ask them for help.”
WHAT MAKES MATH SEEM HARDER FOR PARENTS NOW?
- My child is learning math differently than I did 56%
- I only retained math that I use daily 41%
- I didn’t keep up-to-date with math 39%
- My memory wasn’t what it once was 36%
- The homework is difficult to us both 30%
- I was never good at math as a subject in school 18%
WHAT HAVE PARENTS USED AS EXCUSES TO GET OUT OF HELPING?
- Asking their partner to help them instead
- By coming home late
- Doing laundry and cleaning up
- Claiming to be too tired
- Emergency grocery shopping
- Employing a tutor
- Faking a business phone call
- Faking being sick or feeling ill
- Telling their kid that they have so many work things to do on their laptop
