How can I help my child with times tables without being a teacher?

You don't need to be a maths teacher to help your child learn times tables. The research on effective practice methods is simple enough to follow without any specialist knowledge — and the most useful thing a parent can do doesn't require teaching at all.

What the research says

The most effective parental role in times table practice is not to teach — it’s to create the conditions for retrieval practice to happen. Ophuis-Cox and colleagues’ classroom study showed that structured retrieval practice (flashcard-based) significantly outperformed unstructured repetition — and the protocol was simple enough for non-specialists to follow consistently.

Research on game-based training found that structured short sessions — as brief as 20 minutes in total, in some studies — produced measurable gains when they incorporated retrieval, spacing, and feedback. None of these require mathematical expertise to implement.

What this means in practice

You don’t need to know your own times tables perfectly to help your child learn theirs. You need to ask questions, listen to answers, and tell them immediately when they’re wrong.

Try this

• Sit with your child during practice. Your presence — as witness, not as teacher — maintains motivation and allows you to spot hesitation.
• Don’t help with the answer. Waiting for the retrieval attempt, even a failed one, is the whole point.
• Use a simple system: ask, wait, confirm or correct, move on. The simplicity is deliberate.

Last reviewed: 2026-08-01