Your Child's First Math Competition: A Parent's Survival Guide

Your child signed up for their first math competition. Maybe it’s Math Kangaroo, maybe MOEMS through their school, maybe something else entirely. Either way, you probably have questions — and possibly some nerves of your own.

That’s completely normal. Here’s what to actually expect, from a practical standpoint, so you can focus on what matters: making this a good experience for your kid.

Before Competition Day

What to talk about

The single most important thing you can do before competition day has nothing to do with math. It’s about framing.

Say this kind of thing:

• “Let’s see what kinds of puzzles they give you — I’m curious!”
• “You won’t know how to solve every problem, and that’s totally fine. Even the best students skip some.”
• “The goal is just to try it and see what it’s like.”

Avoid this:

• “I want you to try for the top 10.” (Too much pressure for a first try.)
• “You’ve been practicing so hard, you should do great.” (Ties their worth to the outcome.)
• “Don’t worry, it’ll be easy.” (It won’t be — and now they’ll feel bad when it’s hard.)

The night before, don’t cram. If they’ve been practicing, trust the work. If they haven’t, one evening won’t change the outcome. Do something relaxing instead.

What to pack

For Math Kangaroo specifically (and most in-person competitions follow similar rules):

Bring:

• 2-3 sharpened pencils and a good eraser (students can bring their own, and the competition provides one pencil too)
• A water bottle (bottled water is the only drink allowed at the desk)
• A snack for afterward — they’ll be hungry after 75 minutes of focus
• Any registration confirmation your testing center requested

Leave at home:

• Calculators — not allowed at Math Kangaroo or most elementary competitions
• Phones and smartwatches — no electronic devices in the testing room
• Study materials — flipping through notes in the parking lot just raises anxiety

On Competition Day

The single most important thing on competition morning isn’t last-minute review — it’s your child’s mood. A kid who walks into the testing room happy and relaxed will outperform a stressed kid every time. Keep the morning light. Make their favorite breakfast. Play music in the car. If they’re smiling when they sit down, you’ve already done your job.

A quick warm-up (optional, but helpful)

Brains need a few minutes to get into “math mode,” just like athletes warm up before a game. On the morning of the competition, you can offer your child the choice of doing one or two easy problems — ones they’ve already solved before from past practice. Nothing new, nothing hard. Just something familiar to get the gears turning. If they don’t want to, that’s fine too. The key word is offer, not require.

Getting there

Arrive about 15 minutes early. For Math Kangaroo, competitions are held at registered testing centers — typically schools, libraries, or community centers. When you get there, check in at the front, find the right room, and let your child get settled.

At check-in, your child will receive their competition booklet, answer sheet, and scratch paper. Their name, ID number, and grade level are pre-printed on the materials. They’ll also get a participation ribbon, a pencil, and a small souvenir — which is a nice touch for first-timers.

What happens in the room

Parents don’t go in. Your child walks in, sits down, and a proctor runs everything from there. They work independently for 75 minutes, then turn in their answer sheet and booklet.

Here is the single most important rule to drill before the test: do not leave any question blank. There is no penalty for wrong answers on Math Kangaroo (and most elementary competitions). A blank answer is always worth zero. A random guess has a 1-in-5 chance of being worth 3, 4, or 5 points. When time is almost up, go back and circle something for every unanswered question — even if it’s a complete guess. This alone can be worth 10+ extra points.

What YOU do while waiting

You wait. For about 75-90 minutes.

Bring a book, bring your phone, bring a coffee. Some testing centers have a waiting area; others don’t. Don’t hover outside the door — it won’t make time go faster, and your child won’t know you’re there anyway.

Here’s a useful thing to do with the waiting time: talk to the other parents. Many of them are first-timers too. You’ll pick up tips about other competitions, local math clubs, and resources you didn’t know existed.

After the Test

What to say when they walk out

This is the moment that matters most. Lead with:

“How was it? Did you have fun?”

Not: “How do you think you did?” Not: “Which ones did you get right?” Not: “Was it hard?”

Let them tell you what they want to tell you. Some kids come out energized and want to describe every problem. Others are drained and just want a snack. Both are completely normal.

If they say it was hard: “Those problems are designed to be tricky — the fact that you sat there and worked through them for over an hour is impressive.”

If they say it was easy: “That’s great! Which problems were your favorites?”

If they say they didn’t finish: “Most kids don’t finish every question. That’s how the test is designed.”

The point is: celebrate the experience, not the score.

When results come out

For Math Kangaroo, the answer key is posted about one month after competition day. Official results and winners are announced around May 1, and the full exam becomes available for question-by-question review after that.

That gap is actually helpful. By the time scores arrive, the emotional intensity of competition day has faded, and you can look at the results more objectively.

When the scores do come, frame them as a starting point — not a verdict. For a first-timer, knowing “I got 14 out of 24 right” is just information. It tells you which topics were strong and where there’s room to grow. That’s it.

The Bigger Picture

A first math competition is an experiment, not an exam.

Some kids love it immediately and can’t wait to sign up for the next one. Others need a couple of tries before they feel comfortable. Both reactions are normal, and neither one predicts anything about their future in math.

The real goal for year one is exposure: getting comfortable with the format, the time pressure, and the unfamiliar problem types. If your child walks away saying “I’d do that again,” that’s a successful first competition — regardless of the score.

And if they want to prepare more seriously next time, structured practice makes a big difference. Our Math Kangaroo preparation guide for grades 3-6 breaks down each topic area with kid-friendly explanations and original practice problems. You can also read our complete guide to the Math Kangaroo format to understand exactly how the scoring and question structure works.

This article is not affiliated with or endorsed by Math Kangaroo USA or Kangourou sans Frontieres. For official rules and registration, visit mathkangaroo.org.