Negative Numbers Don't Make Sense

By Laura Lurns · Reviewed by Philip Weaver · Last reviewed 2026-10-23

Why don't negative numbers make sense to my child?

We hold no study of why negative numbers confuse a child. In our view, a number less than zero is hard to picture at first. You can hold three apples. You cannot hold minus three. What we do hold is advice from two federal guides: use a number line.

What do the federal math guides suggest?

A US federal guide on extra math help came out in 2021 (Fuchs and colleagues). It covers children who struggle with math, from kindergarten to sixth grade. It is about help in small groups or one to one, at school. It is not a guide to dyscalculia. Its studies were of help given in school, not at home. Nothing in the guide tests Learning Success.

A second federal guide, on fractions, came out in 2010 (Siegler and colleagues). It is a guide to classroom teaching, from kindergarten to eighth grade. We hold no study of its advice used by a parent at home. Nothing in the guide tests Learning Success.

Both federal math guides we read suggest a number line for negative numbers. Zero goes in the middle. Negative numbers go to the left of zero. Using this line is the panels' advice. No study we hold tested a way of teaching negative numbers.

Our routines for home

The home routines on this page are ours. We hold no study that tests them at home. Do them alongside your child's math instruction, not in place of it.

A line on the floor. Put a strip of tape on the floor. Mark 0 in the middle. Mark 1 to 5 to the right, and −1 to −5 to the left. Ask your child to stand on 2. Then take away 5, by walking five steps left. Where do they land? On −3. So 2 − 5 = −3.

The other way. Start on −4. Add 6, by walking six steps right. Your child lands on 2. So −4 + 6 = 2.

Which is greater? Stand on −2, then on −5. On the line, −2 sits to the right of −5. Numbers get greater as you go right. So −2 is greater than −5.

A line standing up. In our view, a thermometer is a number line standing up. Below zero, the numbers are negative. Three degrees below zero is −3.

When to ask for help

Each of these is a reason to ask for help on its own.

• Little change, even with steady practice and good teaching.
• Math well below your child's other schoolwork.
• A teacher who raises a concern about math.
• Extreme upset about math.
• Complete avoidance of math.
• Worry about math that spreads into the rest of learning.
• Sadness or worry that lasts.
• A skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.

If no skill has gone, start with the teacher. Say what you are seeing at home, and what you have tried. Beyond the teacher, the right person depends on what it turns out to be about. If the work is too hard, someone who works on that school skill. If worry or mood is the thing, someone who works with children's mental health. In our view, if you are worried enough to ask, a professional evaluation is worth asking about.

Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.