In an AP-AOL News poll of 1,000 adults, the findings confirmed what most people already know: Americans have a love-hate relationship with math as a school subject with nearly 4 in 10 adults expressing their disdain for the matter. Perhaps, if these people played fun math games online, then their attitude towards math would have changed for the better.

Why do kids hate math?

If adults hate math, then you can imagine the experiences of children who are still being introduced to its concepts. The question then is: Why do children hate math? Keep in mind that disdain for the subject often begins in childhood.

First, math is not something that can be done passively and impulsively, like learning the English language in a first language environment. Children must spend a lot of time, effort, and energy learning math concepts, developing math problem-solving skills, and advancing those skills to the next level. For most kids, concentration and focus are not their strong suits, especially with technology (ie video games) at hand. The good news is that kids’ affinity for video games can also be harnessed for their own good through fun math games, but more on that later.

Second, math seems like a subject with no real-world applications except for basic operations (ie addition, subtraction). Children also hate that math has a set of rigid rules that allow few opportunities for imaginative discourse, thus their idea that math is a boring subject. Mathematics has a language of its own that children will not initially understand. Teachers then need to simplify the jargon so that everyday applications can be made.

How online math games help

Fortunately, children can love the subject through fun math games! These are online flash games that teach kids the basics of math in a fun, engaging and colorful way, harnessing the power of play. Studies have shown that playing flash math games online provides the following benefits for children:

• Promotes a positive attitude beneficial to their performance in the classroom because math is now seen as an enjoyable activity, thanks to the video game-like nature of math games.

• Strengthens the connection between math as a classroom subject and math as an everyday application, as fun math games use real-life examples to teach a point.

• Engages children’s interest for extended periods of time through colorful graphics, exciting problems, and a variety of options for every skill level, as well as interactive activities, which books and blackboards typically don’t provide students with.

In short, flash math games on online sites are more likely to hold children’s attention for longer periods. This is beneficial for children because the longer they can focus on a math concept or problem, the better they can understand or solve it, respectively.

Parents have been known to hear delighted cries of “I get it” from their children when mathematical concepts are presented in a language the children can understand. That is exactly what we all want to achieve when we encourage children to play video games in the form of fun math games: that they finally understand it and then enjoy it. Parents are even encouraged to play these games with their children as a way to have a good time.