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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBIU to expect that child 8 should know her times tables? Aaaaaagh

41 replies

earlgreyplease · 18/06/2015 20:23

AIBIU to expect that my child age 8, who is at a fee paying school (or at any school for that matter) should know her timetables by now?
We are given a different table every week to do at home, but on top of the homework and reading every night, inevitably it feels like the last straw, and gets left till the last moment. I am getting crosser and crosser that the school have not managed to do this during school hours. Please advise

OP posts:

Penfold007 · 18/06/2015 20:26

I think expecting an 8 year old to have their times tables committed to memory is unrealistic. If you and she can't cope with the homework speak to the school. Fee paying or otherwise it's a common issue.

PHANTOMnamechanger · 18/06/2015 20:27

they need loads and loads of repetition, in class they will chant them and do rapid fire questions, in school your DC might be able to get away with mumbling along. why don't you see it as one of your jobs to teach her/help her teach herself, with lots of games to make it fun?

ilovespinach · 18/06/2015 20:28

Some kids have more difficulty than others. I say that as the mom of a 9 year old who is still have problems remembering his tables.

Getting cross isn't going to help. We made a list the other day of 1. The ones he could say confidently, 2. The ones he needed to use his fingers with and 3. The ones he felt he didn't know.

It's helped. We choose one and practice. He seems to have learnt his 8 times table this week so there is hope for everyone.

PHANTOMnamechanger · 18/06/2015 20:29

I think the target IS that they should know 1-12 x tables by end of Y4, so by age 9+?

Preminstreltension · 18/06/2015 20:29

I think it does require reinforcement at home. It's a tedious thing to learn and can't really be taught as long as they understand the actual process - beyond that some memorisation is required. Komodo Maths online really helped my DD with the practice and repetition and now she's very secure with it.

EddieStobbart · 18/06/2015 20:30

My DD just turned 9 and she doesn't. We went through a period of making a real effort to learn but have slipped a bit and am sure she'll have forgotten just about everything now. If I think she's really falling behind with division and fractions (so it's affecting her ability to move on) then we'll have a big push. When we did that before it did make a difference.

Having watched her take what felt like ages to learn to sound words out and now with seeing her nose permanently jammed in a book I'm not going to get stressed about it. It's just a bit of rote learning that will make more sense to her the more she realises what it connects to.

PHANTOMnamechanger · 18/06/2015 20:31

have you looked at the percy parker/sing your tables websites?

the tunes get under your skin but they do seem to work!

EddieStobbart · 18/06/2015 20:31

State school though, does this make a difference?

momb · 18/06/2015 20:32

Ha! My YD (10) Y5 STILL doesn't know them by heart, and she's top set. I've started playing a CD of them in the car as she seems to know all the Michael Jackson lyrics by heart. Even she is aware that her maths takes her longer than it should as she isn't number-fluent enough.
It will come OP, and not from the limited time your child has at school, but be repetition at home.

LotsaDots · 18/06/2015 20:34

I'm 33 and I never managed to learn all of mine. I was not good at maths. super talented in other ways I might add

cardibach · 18/06/2015 20:35

I am 50 and I don't know mine. I have an otherwise excellent memory, but I just can't do tables or arithmetic of any kind. An expert I worked with suggested discalculia.
Your DD might find them unusually difficult, or she might not be focussing, or any number of other factors might be in play. You do need to try to help her in a low stress way, though - CDs in the car? Run through them before other homework?

BarbarianMum · 18/06/2015 20:36

Just explain to the school that the reason you went private is that you don't want to be involved in the boring, repetitious part of her education. That should do it

MrsPnut · 18/06/2015 20:37

We use the squeeble app on the iPad, you can choose a particular set or random or tricky ones.

Dd does 20 minutes a few times a week as practice.

TheMoa · 18/06/2015 20:38

My 12 year old doesn't know them, nor do I.

We just work them out according to whatever the calculation requires.

Mastering 5x, 10x, doubling, halving, and fractions seems to work fine.

sunseeker66 · 18/06/2015 20:38

DD8 does not know them all. Teen dd forgets most and she is top set.

I'm a terrible mother.

Mistigri · 18/06/2015 20:39

In my experience times tables can take years of reinforcement to become really automatic (depends on the child and how motivated they are). My DD didn't confidently know her tables until secondary school. It didn't stop her getting 99% in her maths mock this year.

formidable · 18/06/2015 20:40

I'm wondering what sort of parent pays school fees but doesn't back that up by assisting her DD to learn her times tables at home?

CtrlAltDelicious · 18/06/2015 20:40

Me too, formidable.

TeenAndTween · 18/06/2015 20:41

YABU to leave it all up to the school.

For many children times tables learning requires parental input.
Practice in the car, or the walk to school or whatever.

80sMum · 18/06/2015 20:42

To help DS learn the times tables, we turned learning the tables from 2 to 12 into a game. We wrote each one onto a small card (ie 3x5=15 etc) and put them all in a drawstring bag. He had to pick them out of the bag at random and see how many he could get right in a row.
When he started getting very good at it, we added a prize. If have could correctly answer them all, picked at random, on 3 consecutive days, then we would buy him a bike.
He rose to the challenge and reliably learned them all - and duly got his bike.
He was 7 at the time.

PerspicaciaTick · 18/06/2015 20:46

I'm 45 and don't know mine. Didn't stop me getting an economics degree with elements of statistics and working programming financial systems for computers as a career. I've noticed that the methods I use to work out calculations in my head are just as accurate and speedy as other people, despite my not being able to do the timestable instant recall thing.

IdaClair · 18/06/2015 20:47

I Don't know mine.

I was top set for maths all through school and got very good exam results. I have never had a problem in my adult life which involves plenty of simple maths.

I don't care if my kids know them or not.

alleypalley · 18/06/2015 20:49

Me too fornidable

We also used to do them on our walk to school.

BabyGanoush · 18/06/2015 20:52

Time tables are not really "maths", they are a rote learning exercise which is very useful (essential) for this NOT good at maths, as a helpful tool.

if your DC is good at maths, but not times tables, don't worry.

BabyGanoush · 18/06/2015 20:52

BabyGanoush Thu 18-Jun-15 20:52:06
Time tables are not really "maths", they are a rote learning exercise which is very useful (essential) for those NOT good at maths, as a helpful tool.

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