I would rather find the answer to the question, "How can we make it more interesting for them."
Regardless of whether or not mathematics interests you, it's a vital skill like reading. I don't really like "reading"* per se, but I still need to do it anyway.
If a skill is truly vital then I will _want_ to learn it, sooner or later, whatever my present interests are.
So there's no need for 'needs' to overrule 'wants'. (And in particular no need for thousands of people to be paid to deem what children's needs supposedly are.)
For example, if I'm interested in a sport then eventually I'll want to learn elementary arithmetic to keep track of scores and the league tables.
If my favourite thing is fantasy computer games I'll eventually want to read the names of other characters, etc.
The new knowledge in both cases will enhance my love of the activity and I will not regard it as a sacrifice to learn it.
Regardless of whether or not mathematics interests you, it's a vital skill like reading. I don't really like "reading"* per se, but I still need to do it anyway.
* s/reading/analysis of fiction/