Your child can solve 7 + 3 without difficulty, but freezes when the same calculation appears in a sentence:

“Mia has 7 stickers. Her friend gives her 3 more. How many stickers does Mia have now?”

This can be confusing for parents. If a child knows how to add, why can't they solve the problem?

The reason is simple: solving math word problems requires much more than calculation.

A child needs to understand the language of the problem, identify the important information, work out what needs to be found, understand the relationship between the quantities, choose an appropriate strategy and finally calculate the answer.

So a child can be perfectly capable of adding or subtracting numbers and still struggle with math word problems.

In fact, problem solving is treated as an important skill in its own right in elementary mathematics curricula. In the U.S. Common Core standards, Grade 1 students are expected to solve addition and subtraction word problems involving several different situations, while the English National Curriculum introduces one-step addition and subtraction problems in Year 1 and develops this further in Year 2.

So why are addition and subtraction word problems difficult for some children — and what can parents do to help?

Why Are Math Word Problems Hard for Some Children?

Consider this simple problem:

Noah has 8 toy cars. He gives 3 to his brother. How many cars does he have left?

For an adult, 8 − 3 may seem immediately obvious.

But a young learner has several things to process.

They need to understand what “gives 3 to his brother” means, remember the two quantities, recognize that Noah's collection is getting smaller, understand what the question is asking and connect that situation to subtraction.

Only then do they calculate.

That's why it is useful to distinguish between:

difficulty calculating

and

difficulty solving a problem.

A child might easily answer:

8 − 3 = 5

but not recognize that Noah's story represents the same mathematical relationship.

This distinction is supported by educational research. The U.S. What Works Clearinghouse gives deliberate instruction in word problems a strong evidence rating as part of its recommendations for supporting elementary students who struggle with mathematics.

1. Your Child May Not Fully Understand the Problem

A math word problem is also a reading and language task.

Words and phrases such as:

altogether
how many are left
more than
less than
difference
each
how many more

all carry mathematical meaning.

A child may therefore struggle with a problem even when the calculation itself is within their ability.

This is one reason mathematical language matters. The What Works Clearinghouse specifically recommends teaching clear mathematical language and helping children use that language to explain mathematical concepts.

Before thinking about an equation, try asking:

“Can you tell me what is happening in the story?”

If your child cannot explain the situation in their own words, they may not yet be ready to choose an operation.

2. They May Focus on the Numbers Instead of the Story

Some children develop a strategy that looks something like this:

Find the numbers → decide whether to add or subtract → calculate.

For example:

Ben has 9 marbles. Ava has 4 marbles. How many more marbles does Ben have than Ava?

The child sees 9 and 4, but does not necessarily understand the relationship between them.

Instead of immediately asking “What calculation do we need?”, try asking:

What do we know?

What are we trying to find out?

What is happening to the quantities?

Are we joining, separating or comparing them?

This shifts the child's attention from finding an operation to understanding the mathematical situation.

3. Addition or Subtraction? They May Not Know Which Operation to Choose

This is one of the most common difficulties with Grade 1 and Grade 2 math word problems.

Teaching children to rely exclusively on keywords can seem helpful:

altogether = add
left = subtract

But word problems are more complex than that.

In U.S. Grade 1 standards, for example, children encounter addition and subtraction through different problem structures: adding to a quantity, taking from it, putting quantities together, taking them apart and comparing quantities. The unknown can also appear in different positions.

The goal is therefore not simply:

“Which word tells me to add?”

but rather:

“What relationship is this problem describing?”

This becomes increasingly important as math problems become more complex.

4. The Problem May Be Too Abstract

Imagine reading:

There are 6 birds in a tree. Two fly away.

Some children can immediately picture six birds and mentally remove two.

Others benefit from actually seeing or manipulating the quantities.

Place six counters on the table.

Move two away.

Ask:

“What happened?”

The abstract problem has suddenly become visible.

This approach is well supported by evidence. The What Works Clearinghouse gives a strong evidence rating to the use of carefully selected concrete and semi-concrete representations when supporting elementary students who struggle with mathematics.

Visual representations can include manipulatives, simple drawings, number lines and other models that help children connect a situation to the mathematics behind it.

This also aligns well with elementary curricula. England's Year 1 curriculum explicitly includes solving addition and subtraction problems using concrete objects and pictorial representations, while U.S. Grade 1 standards mention objects, drawings and equations as ways to represent word problems.

Illustrated situations and hands-on activities can help children make this connection before they are expected to rely entirely on abstract calculations. By seeing and manipulating the quantities involved, children can gradually understand what the numbers and operations actually represent.

How Can I Help My Child Solve Math Word Problems?

Rather than immediately telling your child whether to add or subtract, you can use a simple routine.

The goal is to gradually teach them how to think through a problem independently.

Step 1: Read the Problem Without Calculating

The first reading should be about understanding, not calculating.

Ask:

“What is happening?”

If your child cannot explain the story, read it again together.

You can also simplify the language orally without changing the mathematical relationship.

For example:

Olivia has 6 apples and receives 3 additional apples.

might temporarily become:

Olivia has 6 apples. Someone gives her 3 more.

Once the situation is understood, return to the original wording so the child continues developing mathematical vocabulary.

Step 2: Identify the Question

Ask:

“What do we need to find out?”

This is different from:

“What calculation do we need?”

At this point, the child does not need to know the operation yet.

They simply need to understand the goal.

For example:

We know Sam has 8 blocks and loses 3. We need to find how many he still has.

That sentence already demonstrates much more understanding than simply saying “8 minus 3.”

Step 3: Represent the Problem

If the answer is not obvious, make the situation visible.

Children can use:

• counters;
• building blocks;
• small toys;
• buttons;
• drawings;
• pictures;
• fingers;
• or a number line.

Suppose the problem says:

Lily has 4 strawberries. Her dad gives her 3 more.

Place four counters down.

Then add three.

Now ask:

“What happened to Lily's group?”

The child can see that the quantity increased.

The representation can then gradually become:

objects → drawing → equation

This transition matters. Manipulatives are not simply there to make an activity more entertaining; they should help the child understand how the concrete situation connects to the mathematical symbols. Evidence-based guidance emphasizes precisely this connection between representations and abstract mathematics.

Visual and hands-on approaches can help children make sense of addition and subtraction by connecting quantities, actions and mathematical symbols. Gradually moving from concrete objects to pictures, drawings and equations can make abstract concepts easier to understand and support more independent problem solving.

Step 4: Choose the Operation After Understanding the Situation

Only now do we need to decide whether to add or subtract.

Ask:

“What happened to the quantities?”

Did two groups come together?

Did something get taken away?

Are we comparing two quantities?

Are we trying to find a missing part?

This helps children understand that addition and subtraction describe relationships between quantities. They are not simply symbols on a worksheet.

For focused practice, the Addition Worksheets Pack for Grades 1–2 / Year 2–3 combines simple and illustrated word problems, while the Subtraction Worksheets for Grades 1–2 provide corresponding practice with subtraction and hands-on activities. Both are part of the current PrintiKids English math range.

Step 5: Calculate

Once your child understands the situation and has selected an appropriate operation, they can calculate.

At this stage, you may discover something useful.

Perhaps your child understands the problem perfectly but struggles with the arithmetic.

That tells you the difficulty is not primarily problem solving.

For example, they may correctly identify:

8 + 5

but still need to count all the objects individually to reach 13.

That's a different skill to work on.

Separating these difficulties helps you provide much more targeted support.

Step 6: Check Whether the Answer Makes Sense

Don't stop when the calculation is finished.

Ask:

“Does that answer make sense in the story?”

Suppose:

Ethan has 9 cookies and eats 4.

If your child calculates that Ethan now has 13 cookies, encourage them to compare the answer with the original situation.

He started with 9.

He ate some.

Should he now have more or fewer than 9?

This simple habit teaches children that mathematics is not only about obtaining an answer. The answer also needs to fit the problem.

A Simple Strategy: Understand → Represent → Solve → Check

For a child who regularly struggles with math word problems, try using the same four-step routine:

1. Understand
What is happening? What do we need to find?

2. Represent
Can we show the problem with objects, a drawing or another visual model?

3. Solve
Which operation represents the situation?

4. Check
Does the answer make sense?

Repeating the same routine helps children gradually develop a problem-solving process they can use independently.

Why Different Types of Word Problems Matter

Giving a child ten nearly identical problems may improve familiarity with that particular format, but it does not necessarily teach flexible problem solving.

Children need opportunities to encounter different mathematical structures.

For addition and subtraction, these can include:

Joining:
5 children are playing. 3 more arrive.

Separating:
8 balloons are on the table. 2 are taken away.

Part-whole:
There are 7 animals altogether. 4 are dogs. How many are cats?

Comparing:
Leo has 9 blocks. Maya has 6. How many more does Leo have?

This is especially relevant for an international audience because the same principle appears across curricula.

The U.S. Common Core explicitly includes add to, take from, put together, take apart and compare situations in Grade 1. England's curriculum similarly expects young pupils to solve practical addition and subtraction problems and use the operations flexibly.

The What Works Clearinghouse also recommends explicit instruction based on the underlying structures of word problems, rather than treating every problem as an unrelated exercise. 

What If My Child Can Solve the Problem With Objects but Not on Paper?

This can actually provide useful information.

If your child can correctly solve:

7 toy cars − 3 toy cars

when the cars are physically in front of them, they may already understand the mathematical relationship.

The difficulty may lie in moving from the concrete situation to a drawing, number sentence or abstract calculation.

Rather than removing the manipulatives immediately, build a bridge:

real objects → pictures → simple drawing → equation

For example:

7 counters → draw 7 circles → cross out 3 → write 7 − 3 = 4

Over time, the child may no longer need the intermediate steps.

The goal is not to make a child dependent on manipulatives. It is to use them as a temporary representation that makes mathematical relationships visible.

Should Children Practise Lots of Word Problems?

More is not always better.

If your child is already confused, completing a page of 20 similar problems may simply give them 20 opportunities to repeat the same misunderstanding.

Sometimes three carefully discussed problems are more useful.

Ask your child to explain:

Why did you choose addition?

What does this number represent?

Can you show me what happened?

Could you draw the problem?

How do you know your answer makes sense?

This turns practice into mathematical reasoning rather than answer production.

For children who benefit from progressive practice, the Addition and Subtraction Activities for Grades 1–2 combine simple and illustrated problems with different forms of practice, while the wider Addition and Subtraction Worksheets collection brings the related PrintiKids resources together in one place. 

Can Hands-On and Playful Learning Help With Math?

It can — but a math activity does not need to become a game to be effective.

A child can learn actively by:

moving counters, sorting quantities, drawing a problem, building a number with blocks, acting out a situation or manipulating pictures.

The important distinction is that the activity should serve the mathematical objective.

For example, physically moving three counters into a group of five can help make 5 + 3 meaningful. The manipulation is useful because it represents the mathematical relationship, not simply because it is fun.

If you'd like to explore this idea further, our article Why Is Learning Through Play So Effective for Children? looks more broadly at active and playful approaches to learning. 

When Should I Be Concerned About Math Difficulties?

Struggling with some word problems in Grade 1 or Grade 2 does not by itself indicate a learning disorder.

Children are still developing number knowledge, mathematical language, reading skills and problem-solving strategies.

Instead of focusing on one incorrect worksheet, look for persistent patterns.

For example:

Does your child consistently struggle to understand small quantities?

Do they have difficulty connecting numbers to actual quantities?

Do very simple addition and subtraction concepts remain difficult despite repeated teaching?

Can they calculate but rarely understand what word problems are asking?

Do difficulties appear across several areas of mathematics?

Does math regularly trigger significant distress or avoidance?

If difficulties are persistent and interfere with learning, discussing your observations with your child's teacher is a useful next step. The goal is not to diagnose the problem yourself, but to understand which skills are difficult and what support may be appropriate.

Our article My Child Struggles With Math: When Should I Worry? explores this question in more detail, while My Child Is Struggling at School: How Can I Help? looks more broadly at how parents can respond when academic difficulties begin to appear.

The Most Important Question: Where Is Your Child Getting Stuck?

When a child struggles with math word problems, giving them more calculations is not always the solution.

Instead, try to identify the precise step where the difficulty appears.

Do they understand the language?

Can they explain what is happening?

Do they know what the question is asking?

Can they represent the quantities?

Can they identify the relationship between them?

Can they calculate once the operation has been identified?

These are different skills — and they may require different kinds of support.

For many young learners, moving temporarily from abstract numbers back to objects, drawings and visual representations can make an unfamiliar problem easier to understand.

Then, little by little, the child can move from:

seeing the mathematics → representing the mathematics → writing the mathematics.

Helping a child become more confident with math word problems takes time. The goal is not to find the correct operation as quickly as possible, but to gradually understand what the problem is asking, how the quantities are related and which strategy makes sense. By encouraging children to explain, represent, manipulate and check their reasoning, we can help them build problem-solving skills that will support increasingly complex mathematics as they progress through school.

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