Parents, don’t help your kids with their math homework. No, really.

A new study found that arithme-phobic parents actually may transfer their math anxiety to their first- and second-grade children—but only if they often helped their kids with their homework. The more the parents help, the more anxious their children become.

“The parents are not out to sabotage their kids,” says Sian L. Beilock, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Chicago, “but we have to ensure their input is productive. They need to have an awareness of their own math anxiety and that what you say is important.” For instance, admitting your own math ineptitude to your child and then telling him or her that it’s OK to be bad at math isn’t a recipe for success. (The New York Times)