Safety in Numbers: For Parents of Children with Maths Difficulties
Jul 12, 2026 · 17 min · 10 segments
"I was never any good at maths." "He just doesn't have a maths brain." "I'm just bad at it." This episode takes that phrase apart to consider where it comes from, what it actually covers up and why it…
Alice EarnshawHost
You've probably said it, heard it or thought it, possibly all three, bad at maths.
They're only eight, nine years old, and already they're saying, I'm just bad at maths.
And this phrase, and the many variations of it, is, at best, just plain wrong.
At most, it represents an incredibly damaging idea, because it implies that some people simply aren't capable of learning maths, and that closes the door before anyone has even asked why it's hard.
I want to spend this episode unpicking why that idea is wrong and what it costs children when we don't challenge it.
In each episode, we explore what might be happening when maths feels difficult and what parents can do to better understand and support their child.
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You've probably said it, heard it or thought it, possibly all three, bad at maths.
They're only eight, nine years old, and already they're saying, I'm just bad at maths.
And this phrase, and the many variations of it, is, at best, just plain wrong.
At most, it represents an incredibly damaging idea, because it implies that some people simply aren't capable of learning maths, and that closes the door before anyone has even asked why it's hard.
I want to spend this episode unpicking why that idea is wrong and what it costs children when we don't challenge it.
In each episode, we explore what might be happening when maths feels difficult and what parents can do to better understand and support their child.
