Thread by @TeaKayB

You don't have to be a mathematician, or even "good" at maths, to help your children learn maths. You just have to model resilience and positivity towards what they're doing, and to avoid reinforcing negative tropes.
A thread:

1. Do they seem to have been taught a different method for something you remember? Not a problem: get them to teach you theirs, and encourage them to try to understand yours. See if you can spot similarities. Why do both work? Can you find reasons why one may be...

2. ..."better" than the other (there are no right answers here, but just being more familiar doesn't count)?

3. Are they doing something you don't recognise, or maybe you do recognise but never got the hang of it? Get them to teach you as much of it as they can. Work together on it. Admit that you don't understand it YET but don't use this as an excuse to not engage. Learning new...

4. ... things is a positive thing. Not understanding something is a prerequisite for learning something new.

5. Try not to fall into (or get out of) the habit of saying things like "I've never been any good at maths," "I've always hated maths," "I've never seen the point of maths," etc: these are the most effective ways to kill a potential future mathematician.

6. That's not just in front of your children, either: stop doing it with other adults. Better still, challenge other adults to stop doing it. If you want your child to succeed in maths you MUST genuinely have a positive attitude towards it, not just fake it in front of them.

7. Model mathematical positivity at times other than when they're doing homework. Ask mathematical questions about everything (look for patterns in things & try to explain them, essentially). 8

8. An excellent way to develop your own mathematical positivity is to introduce more maths-positive people into your life. You're on Twitter: follow some (hi!). Interact with them. Ask them things. Share the mathematical discussions that you have with with your kids (#tmwyk)

9. Honestly, the absolute best way to get started supporting children's mathematical development is to stop it with the "I've never been any good at maths" stuff. Even maths profs think that from time to time: the difference is they use it as a motivation rather than an excuse.

10. The thought "it's not my job to help my children learn maths" is unhelpful: nobody can learn maths with just 3 hours contact per week with someone who cares about it. Children with parents who engage with them mathematically have a distinct advantage over those who don't.

This is about as close to "viral" as anything I've tweeted has gone, so I'll take the opportunity to tell you that I help museums to find the maths in their stories, objects & collections (tkbriggs.co.uk)
If you're a maths teacher check out your local museum & ask if...

... their learning offer has something suitable for your students exploring the maths in their story. If not, let them know that you'd really value something that did (& point them my way, if you like). We need more maths in our museums but it won't happen unless you demand it.