To say that boys are better at high standard maths

Bullshit.

Work harder on not passing on your insecurities to your daughter.

DH did further maths and then onto physics degree, he would raise an eyebrow at the idea that girls just wouldn’t be able to manage. He sure as hell wouldn’t be telling DD she should worry about what the boys are doing. I think he would literally die of happiness if DD decided on maths. Just because a particular area is male dominated it doesn’t mean that women are not actually capable of competing in that area.

Excellent trolling OP.

Bugger off

Boys don't have a bigger Maths muscle you know? Your daughter is correct, well done to her.

This… has to be a wind up?

If you think that teenage boys don’t get emotional I would submit that you have never actually met a teenage boy.

But do tell us more about how the possession of a penis aids mathematics?

There are a fair few odd threads around today. Feels like we’ve been invaded by Reddit pisstakers trying it on.

Its attitudes like these that prevent young women from thinking they can do 'science stuff'. You're setting a terrible example and well
done to your daughter for calling you out.

This is absolutely true. It’s because boys have the added advantage of using their penises as both a ruler and protractor. Girls are better at English as they can use their breasts as hand free book support. It’s just plain biology guys, and you can’t deny it.

I was better than any boys I ever met at maths, by a considerable margin. Last time I checked, I was female.

Evidence, please.

like sport there should be a separate ladies math class!

Support your daughter, you twat.

OP, I really hope your post is a wind up, because it's so depressing if not. Previous posters have made excellent points, so I will just add that perhaps you should watch Hidden Figures with your daughter. Perhaps it will change your mind about women's mathematical abilities, and hopefully it will encourage your daughter at the same time, as you and your backwards, sexist attitude clearly won't.

This! 100 per cent . Safe with software engineering

This is so depressing. I encountered attitudes a bit like this nearly 40 years ago, and I'm still angry about it now, but I really thought we had moved on.

Poor girl, it must be devastating when it's coming from your own parent.

She gets emotional easily and sometimes gets upset when she can't solve something. so does my DS and he's fabulous at maths. Him getting upset is about his resilience/emotional regulation, not his maths skills

Of course she can be an ace mathematician. She doesn't need to work harder than boys with a similar innate ability.

However, through nature or nurture I dont know, but maths is more boy heavy generally.
Even at 14, DS2 reports his top set maths group is very boy heavy, and his top set English class is very girl heavy.

Thank heavens my parents didn't discourage me from my STEM academics and career. I'd have been miserable in an arts field! Let her do what she enjoys and excels at!

Statistics tell us girls perform better academically than boys in single sex schools. Girls are not the issue here OP.

You are being sexist. Boys aren’t better at math than girls. Why would you think that?

WTAF. I know someone else has mentioned Hannah Fry already. But, again OP, the President of the UK's chartered professional body for mathematicians is a woman. I am really saddened, and baffled, by your thought process. Your poor daughter.

My DD is amazing at maths (applying to oxford next month) but definitely more boys that do it. She has attended a few oxford run events aimed to bring more girls into maths.

Haha omg you can’t be for real

Yes it’s true that boys are better at spatial reasoning (you’ll never get Mumsnet to understand this, but it’s true and why boys are over-represented at math and physic competitions, and particularly East Asian boys are best at it)

BUT if this post is for real, this is a stupid reason to discourage your daughter. The vast majority of us will NEVER be good at math, male or female. The vast majority of us will never be at the tippy top of the field. Doesn’t mean we should just give it all up and stack boxes in trucks or whatever.

Besides, it will be more useful if she wants to pursue a high-paying stem career and (trust me) she doesn’t want to play catch up with this stuff in college if her field requires heavy math.

Did you go to a coed school by any chance?

I went to a girls school for secondary (age 11+) and one of the advantages is that you don’t learn sexist stereotypes like boys are better at maths.

There were as many girls who went on to read subjects like chemical engineering and computer science as French Literature and Music. This is an English school that makes the top 10 nationally every year for decades.

It’s pretty sad that you see success as winning Olympiads and competitions rather than enjoying the challenge of learning more advanced work. The teacher will have the best idea of your DD’s capabilities and by voicing your dated and sexist idea, you have set dd up to fail if she chooses the course and finds some topics hard. She will have your negative and critical voice saying that she’s a girl so shouldn’t have picked maths “I told you so” rather than an encouraging one urging her to get help from teachers because she’s smart and capable.

It’s ok to get upset when you don’t achieve. Boys also get frustrated and it’s not a sign of weakness. Your dd wants to understand and cares- they are good signs that she’s motivated. Do you think people like Olympic athletes don’t get upset when they can’t run faster, jump further etc? Try a carrot and not a stick- you should be the person building your DD’s self esteem and not stomping on it.

Fellow woman with Maths and Further Maths A-levels at grade A (no A* in the 90s) and who taught herself A-level Statistics (grade A) during her gap year so she could get a place at dream uni.