Giving parents step-by-step information about how the concept of number is developed can encourage them to support their children to count at home. Penny Tassoni explains.

Counting is one of the first steps in children's mathematical journey. It requires plenty of practice in a range of contexts, so it is a good example of an area of development where parents can play an important role.

A good starting point when looking at how we might support parents to help their child at home with counting is to recognise that many parents may have ambivalent feelings towards mathematics.

On one hand, they may be very keen for their children to get off to a flying start, while on the other hand they may be under the common misconception that mathematics is something that you are either born being able to do or not. The latter probably stems from parents' own fears and difficulties with mathematics.

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