Originally Posted by 22B
But if this is happening, then something has already gone wrong.

OP is asking about math, and there is a lot of great advice regarding specifically math in this thread - but I'd also worry (which I assume 22B does, above) about a more general problem.

Perfectionism, GT-kind? (Much discussed on this forum. Tasks are often 'too hard' or 'too easy = boring' and nothing in between.)

How does the child handle staying on a task that he is not 'good at (by his own definition)'?