The primary reason why counting to get the answers is detrimental is because it does not give students the tools it takes to master the facts and get a good conceptual understanding of the association between adding and subtracting. Children need an opportunity to attain a good conceptual understanding of the operations of adding and subtracting. A solid understanding of putting parts together and taking them apart is fundamental to establishing a strong foundation needed to be proficient with adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, fractions, percents, decimals, algebra and more. Adding and subtracting is a stepping stone to other operations and concepts. By counting children can get the right answer but as they progress through the grades they must rely not only on mastery of the addition and subtraction facts but on the concept of parts and wholes. Children usually learn to count when they are 4 or 5 years old. When children begin to learn adding and subtracting, they must be introduced to the concept of putting parts together and taking them apart.
Another important factor about the importance of mastering the math facts, rather than counting, is that it takes much longer to count than to have the answers at automatic recall. The necessity to count causes children to have a hard time completing assignments and tests in a reasonable amount of time. Additionally, if children are occupied with counting to get adding and subtracting answers, they are not able to give their full attention and focus to learning new concepts.
Lastly, counting becomes a habit that is hard to break. The sooner children master the math facts, the less likely they will develop the habit of counting and consequently the need to break it. Children and adults only count when they do not know the answer. It is always better to know the answer than to have to stop and figure it out. Counting is a linear way to simply get answers to adding and subtracting problems.
