For Parents
How to Learn Times Tables Without Tears
By Sarah Ahmed · · 4 min read
Quick answer
Short daily practice beats long weekly sessions. Teach the structure first — commutativity halves the work, since 7×8 and 8×7 are the same fact — then focus on the small number of genuinely hard facts. Aim for instant recall rather than counting up, because working memory is what later maths depends on.
Why they still matter
Times tables are not about arithmetic speed for its own sake. They free working memory. A child who has to calculate 7×8 while doing long division has less capacity left for the division itself.
This is why fluency in tables predicts success in fractions, ratio, algebra and beyond — not because those topics need multiplication constantly, but because attention spent recalling is attention not spent thinking.
Halve the work immediately
There are 144 facts in the 1 to 12 tables, which sounds enormous. But 7×8 and 8×7 are the same fact, which removes almost half. The 1s, 2s, 5s and 10s are usually already known.
Once you strip those out, most children are left with around twenty genuinely unknown facts. Naming that small number changes a child's belief about whether the task is possible.
Target the hard ones
The consistently difficult facts cluster: 6×7, 6×8, 7×8, 7×9, 8×9, 12×12 and a few neighbours. There is little value in drilling 2×3 for the hundredth time.
Find the actual gaps by testing the whole set once and recording only the ones that were slow or wrong. Practise those, and retest weekly.
Little and often
Five minutes a day works far better than half an hour on Sunday. Recall is built by frequency of retrieval, and short sessions also avoid the fatigue that makes children resent the whole exercise.
In the car, walking to school, while cooking — verbal practice in ordinary moments removes the sense of it being a formal task.
Recall, not counting
A child who works out 6×7 by counting up in sixes knows the process but does not have the fact. The goal is instant retrieval, which is what frees the working memory.
Counting strategies are a fine bridge and should not be criticised, but keep moving towards recall by mixing the order and asking for speed on the facts they have secured.
Use structure, not just repetition
Show patterns: the 9s digits sum to nine, the 4s are double the 2s, the 6s are double the 3s. Structure gives children a route back when recall fails and makes the whole set feel less arbitrary.
Some children also benefit from seeing multiplication as an array — six rows of seven — which connects tables to area and later to algebra.
Frequently asked questions
What age should children know their times tables?+
In England, children are expected to know up to 12×12 by the end of Year 4, around age nine, and are formally checked at that point. Expectations vary by country and school.
How long should daily practice be?+
Five to ten minutes is plenty. Frequency matters far more than duration, and longer sessions usually produce resistance without producing recall.
Are songs and apps useful?+
They can be, especially for reluctant learners, but check that recall is genuine — some children can sing a table through and still not answer 7×8 asked cold. Test out of order.
What if my child finds this really hard?+
Focus on the small number of genuinely difficult facts rather than the whole set, keep sessions short and positive, and consider whether a wider difficulty with number is worth discussing with the school.
Do children still need tables if calculators exist?+
Yes — the reason is working memory rather than calculation. Time spent recalling basic facts during a harder problem is attention taken away from the problem itself.
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