Have you glanced through your middle school child's math textbook and felt that nothing looks familiar? Do you panic if your child asks you for help with math homework? Relax! Math hasn't changed - it looks different from when you were in school because our world is different. In addition to arithmetic skills, today's students need to understand and use algebra, geometry, probability, and statistics to analyze and solve problems.

Like many parents, you may feel real trauma when your child asks for help with math homework -- not simply because you can't, for the life of you, remember what binomials are, much less how to multiply them, but because you're forced to say to your child for the first time ever, "I'm sorry, but I don't know how to help you." You are no longer omniscient, the all-knowing parent. How had this happened, and what should you do?

Well, if you can no longer be the parent with all the answers, become the parent who knows how to help your child find the answers. Here are some tips to help your child find answers to math questions.

• Helping your child be successful in math is much like helping children succeed in any other area. If your child is learning to play the piano, you have a positive, encouraging attitude, make it a regular part of family conversations, point out its relationship to other topics, and let your child know you have high expectations about practicing and doing her best. Do the same with math.


• Math teaching today places more emphasis on solving real-world problems so children make the connection between math and their lives. You can use these same strategies at home. Look for opportunities for your child to help solve problems that require math -- e.g., calculating the miles and estimating gas costs for an upcoming family trip or determining how many weeks of allowance your child needs to save to purchase a new toy he wants.


• Regardless of your math skills, you can help your child with math homework by asking questions that encourage deeper thinking. "Can you explain the problem to me in your own words?" "How about making a diagram or chart to see what information you have and what's missing?"


• Search the Web for parent resources, such as the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) website. It contains a family section with suggestions, materials, and links.


• Together with your child, make a list of potential resources for homework help - classmates who do well in math and relatives or family friends who have some math expertise.


• Every few days, sit down with your child to go over her math homework together. As she works through problems, have her explain them to you. This seems to help children better understand the material, and you will truly look forward to these shared learning experiences.

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