Make shopping a learning experience.

It’s that time of the year month again. Double-digit sale days have been so popular that it has become a monthly phenomena (think 9.9, 10.10 and 12.12 which are advertised by well-known celebrities like Cristiano Ronaldo and Jackie Chan). 11.11, or more popularly known as Singles’ Day, isn’t just a celebration of singlehood. For many, it is the time to splurge on shopping given the multitude of discounts on various shopping platforms - be it online or offline.

Did you catch that? Discounts. For shopaholics, the word would probably be music to their ears. But for students who struggle in Mathematics, percentage discounts may be a concept which they shy away from.

How can you as a parent help to introduce and actively reinforce the concept of percentage discount to your child? Genius Plus Mathematics outlines three fun and simple activities you can do with your child.


1. Who’s paying?

What’s shopping without food? Whether you choose to dine out or deliver food home, someone (you, probably) will have to pay for it. Why not add some excitement to bill splitting and get your child to dictate what percentage of the meal should be paid by you or other family members? You could even up the stakes and suggest to your child that failure to calculate the amounts correctly would result in him or her paying for the meal. Here’s an example.

Extra: You may also suggest tipping a certain percentage to your waiter or waitress, or delivery rider.

2. What’s the (best) deal? 

You would probably already know of a few online shopping platforms which host 11.11 sales such as Lazada and Shopee. Some of these platforms offer a range of deals such as discounts off a product, or cashback incentives. Sometimes, certain bank cardholders may also enjoy additional discounts. Save yourself the trouble of comparing prices across these different platforms by engaging your child to do the math for you. (Of course, you should check his/her work to ensure that you scored the best deal!) Here’s an example.

3. How much left?

At the end of the day, you could sit down with your child to take stock of how much has been spent. If you had set a budget together at the beginning, now is the time to find out the percentage decrease in the amount of money. Hint: This is a very common concept tested in schools! Here’s an example.

Extra: Given the impending GST hike as well as tax on online shopping, it would be good to get your child to find out how much more would have to be paid in the future!


We hope you enjoy the activities (and shopping) with your child! 


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