Let go of any fears you might have about math. Before approaching your child about the subject or finding him the appropriate resources, it is important to deal with your own attitude. Share stories of overcoming difficulties, but do not emphasize fear and anxiety.
Assess and improve your child's conceptual learning. Even if she is bringing home good grades, she might not be learning the material in the deep way needed for more advanced classes. Ask her to do word problems, explain the material to you in her own words and draw pictures to represent the concepts.
Incorporate math into your child's daily life starting at an early age. For instance, work lessons on fractions into baking cookies. Take the time to identify the routine activities that involve math (you'd be surprised how many there are) and create interactive dialogues around these activities. Do not assume that your child is passively absorbing math skills by watching you.
Meet with your child's math teacher at the beginning of the year. The teacher should be able to outline the progression of skills expected throughout the school year. She can also suggest home study plans, explain how class materials should be used and let you know whether your work at home is producing results in the classroom.
Involve yourself in your child's math homework without doing it for her. Provide a variety of extra problems. The Office of Educational Research and Improvement in the Department of Education recommends the publication "Teaching Children Mathematics" for elementary school kids and the journal "Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School" for kids in middle school as sources for math problems.
Hire a math tutor that will work with your child's individual learning style if your child is struggling. If the tutor does not seem like a good fit after a couple of sessions, do not be afraid to try a new one. The tutor should be able to give useful feedback to both you and your child's teacher. If the level of your child's math class is above your abilities, it is particularly important that you try to establish communication between the tutor and the teacher, whether it be in person or through email.
Identify your child's academic strengths in other subjects and use these to enhance his math skills. For instance, if your child does well in art and likes that type of work, encourage him to approach math problems through pictures. Likewise, if he tends to excel in language arts, suggest that he use flash cards for terms and definitions.
Make use of manipulatives and technology to ensure that your child develops an interactive approach to math. However, do not expect a computer program to be your child's math teacher.