Three Ways that Kids who are Good at Math Benefit as Adults
By Deanna Hurn, Founder and Executive Director of Miracle Math Coaching
As parents, we want our children to grow up to be happy, healthy and wise. We run ourselves ragged to increase the odds of that happening – from ferrying them to sports and music classes, to monitoring what they eat and when they sleep to supervising their “screen time” (TV, phone, tablet) to getting them help when they need it academically. But specifically getting your kids to do well in Math can help them lead better lives. Here’s proof –
1. Adults who have strong Math and social skills earned more over a 20-year period than people with just one set of those skills or the other, concluded a study by the University of California. And if your child pursues a STEM-related career (Science, Technology, Engineering or Math), his or her salary will average $65,000 or about $15,500 more than their non-STEM peers.
Also the median salary of a mathematician ($111,110) is higher than that of all other occupations, according to the Wall Street Journal. Of course, money doesn’t always buy happiness, but being healthy can lead to fulfillment.
2. People with good Math skills tend to have better medical outcomes when they’re ill, according to research by Professor Ellen Peters of Ohio State University. For starters, when patients diagnosed with a serious health condition are given options for treatment, those who are more analytical and math-oriented have greater survival rates. That’s because they make their treatment decisions based upon analysis rather than emotion, says Professor Peters.
She also notes that adults with low numeracy (math ability) have worse health outcomes. “For example, diabetics with lower numeracy scores have higher blood sugar levels. And children with diabetes have higher blood sugar levels if their parents are less numerate,” according to a recent interview with Professor Peters.
3. Being good at Math makes you even smarter. I’ve mentioned before that the brain is like a muscle that you must “exercise.” The more your child uses it specifically for math, the better he or she will be at problem solving, analysis and forming new ideas, says Clancy Blair, a New York University professor.
An article in the Economist reports that these analytical skills “are associated with the pre-frontal cortex part of the brain, which continues to develop into your early 30s. Solving Math problems improves the way your brain functions and, according to Mr. Blair, this can translate into an ability to earn more money and form stable relationships.”
To help your child do better in Math, check out Miracle Math Coaching. All of our processes and procedures support brain-based research and learning.
Please visit the Discovery page on our website to see how our process works and submit for a Free Learning Discovery Assessment or call me at 707-398-3474, ext. 2700. Miracle Math Coaching is an award-winning, student-focused service with a track record of boosting academic achievement.
