If you dread helping your child with times tables more than they do, you are not alone, and it turns out you may be part of a bigger pattern than you realise. Research from the University of Cambridge and the Nuffield Foundation points to something that stopped me in my tracks: around 23% of UK parents report genuine maths anxiety, and many of them pass it on to their children, not through anything deliberate, but through the sighs, the hesitations, the tense homework sessions at the kitchen table. This summer, as schools break up and the worry about the "summer slide" kicks in, I think this research deserves a direct, honest response. Because the stakes are higher than a few forgotten multiplication facts.
What the 'Summer Slide' Actually Does to Maths Confidence
The summer slide is a real thing. After six or seven weeks away from structured learning, children's recall of maths facts can dip noticeably, and for children who were already finding times tables tricky, or who have maths anxiety themselves, that dip can feel huge when September rolls around. What I keep hearing from teachers and parents we speak to is that it is less about the lost knowledge and more about the lost confidence. A child who goes back to school feeling behind starts Year 5 or Year 6 on the back foot before the first lesson has even begun.
For neurodivergent children, or those with SEND, the stakes feel even higher. Their relationship with numbers is often already fragile. A summer of pressure, worksheets and frustrated parents can genuinely set things back.
The Part Nobody Talks About: The Parent in the Room
Here is the bit that really stayed with me when I looked into this research. It is not that parents are doing anything wrong. It is that maths anxiety is quietly contagious within families. When a parent who struggled with maths at school sits down to help with times tables, their body language, their tone, even the way they phrase a correction, can signal to the child that maths is something to fear.
The finding that roughly one in four UK parents carries maths anxiety is not a small footnote. It reshapes how we should think about home learning entirely.
And yet the standard advice remains: practise your times tables over summer. Drill them. Use flashcards. Do ten minutes a day. For families where maths anxiety runs deep, that advice is not just unhelpful. It can actively make things worse.
Why 'Just Practise More' Is the Wrong Answer for Anxious Families
I want to be clear about something, because I think this gets glossed over. The problem is not a lack of effort from parents. Most parents I have spoken to genuinely want to help. The problem is that the tools they are handed, timed tests, rote repetition, drilling, are exactly the tools most likely to trigger anxiety in both the child and the adult doing the helping.
When a child sees a parent fumble over a multiplication question, or hears the frustration in their voice, the message absorbed is not "maths is hard but manageable". It is "maths is the kind of thing that upsets people". That association sticks.
As our founder Gal Darrash puts it, *"The goal isn't to get kids to tolerate maths. It's to get them to forget they're doing it at all."*
That is the design principle behind XTables Champions. The app is built around games children actually want to play, many of them multiplayer, where the maths is embedded inside the fun rather than bolted on top of it. A child is not sitting down to "do times tables". They are playing a game. The practice happens anyway.
Taking the Parent Out of the Friction
This is the part that matters most for anxious families over summer. Because XTables Champions is an independent, child-led experience, parents do not need to be the teacher. They do not need to know their seven times table confidently. They do not need to correct, prompt or explain. They can simply say: "Go and play that game for a bit," and walk away without guilt.
That might sound like a small thing. From the conversations we are having in our early work with schools and families, it is anything but. Removing the parent from the moment of direct instruction removes the single biggest source of transmitted anxiety. The child practises. The parent's relationship with the child stays warm and relaxed. Nobody cries.
For children with SEND or neurodivergent needs, the design of the app is genuinely built with them in mind, not retrofitted. The games are engaging without being overwhelming, the multiplayer element brings in social motivation without the pressure of a timed classroom test, and progress happens in a low-stakes environment.
What a Good Summer Maths Habit Actually Looks Like
I am not going to pretend there is a magic formula, because every child is different. But from what I am seeing, the families who have the best experience keeping maths ticking over in the summer holidays tend to share a few things in common.
They keep sessions short and self-directed. Ten to fifteen minutes a few times a week, chosen by the child rather than imposed at a fixed time, seems to land better than longer daily drills. They frame it as play, not school. And crucially, they take themselves out of the room. Not because they do not care, but because sometimes caring means trusting your child to get on with it without an anxious adult watching over their shoulder.
Times tables games built for home use, especially ones with genuine multiplayer options where children can play against friends or classmates remotely, also solve the motivation problem that every parent faces in week three of summer when the novelty has worn off. Competition, even gentle competition, is a brilliant engine for practice.
Worried Your Child Is Showing Signs of Maths Anxiety?
Some things to look out for: avoidance (suddenly needing the loo every time maths comes up), physical complaints before maths homework, comparing themselves very harshly to other children, or a strong belief that they are "just not a maths person". These are not laziness or attitude problems. They are anxiety responses, and they deserve a compassionate, low-pressure approach rather than more drilling.
If any of that sounds familiar, this summer is actually a good window to shift the pattern before Year 5 or Year 6 begins in earnest.
Let's Talk About How XTables Champions Can Help Your Child This Summer
If you are a parent worried about the summer slide, especially if maths anxiety is part of your own story or your child's, I would genuinely love for you to take a look at what XTables Champions does differently. The app is designed for exactly the children and families who need a different approach: SEND-friendly, genuinely fun, and built so that parents can step back rather than step in.
Head to xtableschampions.com to find out more, or get in touch directly if you have questions about whether it is the right fit for your child. We are a small, founder-led team and we are very much here to talk.