The importance of numerical symbols for the development of mathematical skills

How do young children develop numerical and mathematical skills? In this paper, I review what we have learnt over the past few decades about the foundational skills that underpin children’s numerical and mathematical development. I discuss the importance of learning the meaning of numerical symbols and review studies that show that early number symbol knowledge predicts later math skills and that training numerical symbol knowledge can enhance children’s early math skills. I close by discussing future directions.