For parents
How to help your child with math homework — even if you’ve forgotten the math
You can help with math homework without knowing the method. Ask your child to show you what they tried, ask where it stopped making sense, and have them check their answer by putting it back into the problem. Avoid giving the answer or reteaching the way you learned it. When they need more than that, use help that points to their mistake and asks them to fix it, rather than an app that hands over the answer.
Updated October 9, 2026 · Published by MathSense AI (L8O LLC)
Five things to say instead of giving the answer
“Show me what you tried.”
Starting from their work, not a blank page, tells you (and them) where they really are.
“Where did it stop making sense?”
Most stuck students understood the first step and lost the thread at one specific line.
“Does your answer work if you put it back in?”
Checking by substitution works in almost every algebra problem, and you don’t need to know the method to do it together.
“What did the example in class do here?”
Their notes or textbook usually have a worked example of the same step.
“Take a break, then try the next line.”
Frustration makes it harder to see a slip. Five minutes away often helps more than another explanation.
What usually backfires
- Doing the problem for them — it finishes the homework but not the learning, and the quiz will show it.
- Teaching a different method from the one their teacher uses; two methods at once are confusing.
- Answer apps that photograph the problem and print the solution. Copying a correct answer feels like progress, but the next problem is just as hard.
- Long explanations late in the evening. Short questions work better than lectures.
When your child needs more than you can give
It is fine not to remember how to factor a quadratic. What helps most is someone who can look at your child’s own work, point to the step that went wrong and ask them to fix it — at 9pm, without an argument. That is what a good tutor does, and it is what MathSense Tutor is built to do.
What you see as a parent
With the Family plan, each child has their own profile and their own tutor. You get a parent dashboard that shows learning — what they’re practising, what they’ve mastered and the slips that keep coming back — not their conversations.
Illustrative example — simulated student work.
Parent dashboard
Maya
Open6 problems this week · last active yesterday · 4 mastered · 2 developing
- Maya is currently practicing solving linear equations.
- Maya is improving at solving linear equations but still frequently makes sign errors.
- Maya has mastered one-step equations.
You see learning, not conversations.
And this is what your child sees: the tutor finds the step that went wrong and asks them to fix it.
Illustrative example — simulated student work.
MathSense Tutor
Solve 4 − 3(x − 2) = 19
Student’s work:
4 − 3(x − 2) = 19
4 − 3x − 6 = 19
−2 − 3x = 19
−3x = 21
x = −7
My work — I got x = −7 but it doesn’t work when I check it
Tutor:
Engine-checked
Nice setup — and lines 3 to 5 follow correctly from line 2. The slip is in line 2, where you multiplied out the brackets. Look at the −3 and the −2 inside. What do you get when you multiply them?
Student: Asked for: Hint
Tutor:
Hint: a negative times a negative is positive. So −3 × (−2) = ?
Student: +6… oh. I wrote −6.
Tutor:
That’s the one. Fix line 2 and keep going — send me your steps and I’ll check every line.
Student’s work:
4 − 3x + 6 = 19
10 − 3x = 19
−3x = 9
x = −3
Redone
Tutor:
Engine-checked
Every line checks out: x = −3. And you found the fix yourself. Nice work. Want to make sure it sticks?
Try a similar oneNew problem
How MathSense Tutor helps
“I can’t help with this math anymore.”
The tutor checks your child’s own work line by line and points to the step that went wrong — you don’t need to know the method.
“I don’t want an app doing the homework.”
It asks a question first, then gives hints your child chooses. It doesn’t hand over the answer unless they ask to see the solution.
“I don’t know how they’re really doing.”
The parent dashboard shows problems worked, skills mastered and recurring slips in plain sentences — not their chats.
“I have more than one child.”
The Family plan covers three student profiles, each with its own learning memory. More students can be added.
The Family plan
The Family plan covers three children, each with their own tutor and learning memory, plus a parent dashboard that shows progress, not conversations.
Family
Billed annually at $159.99
For families with 3+ students.
- 3 student profiles
- Unlimited tutoring*
- Individual learning memory for every child
- Individual progress
- Personalized practice
- Parent family dashboard
- Add additional students for $4.99/month
Cancel any time.
* Fair use: up to 400 tutoring turns a day.
Questions
- How can I help my child with math homework if I don’t understand it?
- Ask them to show what they tried, ask where it stopped making sense, and have them check their answer by putting it back into the problem. You don’t need the method to ask those questions.
- Should I give my child the answer to their math homework?
- Usually not. Giving the answer finishes the homework but skips the learning. Pointing to the step that went wrong and letting them fix it works better.
- Can I see what my child does on MathSense Tutor?
- With the Family plan, the parent dashboard shows each child’s problems this week, skills mastered and developing, and recurring slips in plain sentences. It does not show their conversations.
- How much is the Family plan?
- The Family plan is $19.99 a month or $159.99 a year and covers three student profiles. Additional students are $4.99 a month. There is also a Free plan with 7 problems a week.