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Ball and Chain Traps Kids Into Studying
Categories: Education, Gadgets & Tech
Should homework feel like punishment? Image: sxc.hu
These kids squirm and stall and find 101 reasons to put off the inevitable. First they need a snack, then the bathroom, then the dog needs a cuddle and oh, wait, now they are hungry again! And just when you think you've got them settled down and making some progress, you turn around and find they've escaped.
Beyond threatening, cajoling and bribing, what's a frustrated parent to do? Well, you could take the idea of homework as punishment to its next logical step and go ahead and lock up the prisoner.
That's the idea behind the Study Ball. It's literally a ball and chain with a timer. Lock it onto your student's leg and it will unlock only when the programmed amount of time has passed. It weighs just under 21 pounds, making that impromptu trip to the fridge difficult and perhaps not worth the trouble.
The ball cannot be programmed to lock for more than four hours and it comes with an emergency escape key. But still. Perhaps a college student might find this device amusing and even helpful in promoting self-discipline. But do you really want your younger child learning to associate school work with shackles and chains?
Would you use a device like this? What have you tried to get your kids to do their homework in a timely manner? Or have you just given up?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ann 5-26-2009 @ 5:36PM
I don't think that ball is the solution for parents whose children don't want to do their homework. What children really need is a daily routine when doing homework. When I was a child, I could eat something after coming home from school, and afterwards I had to do my homework. No TV or playing beforehand. This ensured that I actually got to work, since I'd rather go outside to play. Of course, this method may not work for everybody, especially if your kids have a lot of afternoon activities. In that case it may be better to do homework after dinner. But if afternoon activities regularly interfere with homework because they leave your child too tired, you'll have to cut back on them so that your child has enough energy to study. Another factor is that some children don't like homework because they don't understand the assignments. Let's face it, if you routinely get an F in math you don't feel very enthusiastic about doing math homework. If that is the case, you may have to help your child or hire a tutor. And lastly: does your child have a quiet place to study? Your child might be full of good intentions, but if TVs are blaring and siblings are fighting it's hard to concentrate. My daughter always does her homework after her younger siblings have gone to bed, and it works well for her.
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Dr Patricia Porter 5-26-2009 @ 9:20PM
Wow, how horrid! What a way to turn kids off doing homework. Time to turn the problem on its head - why do homework anyway? Many studies have shown that homework does little, if anything, to help kids learn. Teachers routinely set 'busy work' for homework assignments and only when homework has some basic use for a student, and they understand what that use is, will they begin to accept that they need to do some work.
A ball and chain is NOT the way to go. Use an alarm clock instead if you need to set the discipline of time. I think this borders on child abuse!
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damoki 5-27-2009 @ 1:29AM
I agree with the Doctor Porter; this borders on abuse, and I would add, is over the border on 'stupid'. Is there a cost for this Marquis de Sade party favor? I am aghast and a bit saddened at the lack of concern for the real purpose of parenting by those who "develop" training aids and equipment like this. Next, we will see the Tiny Tot Cattle Prod or Barbie Branding Iron... now there is real motivation.
Parenting is not always a big bag of giggles; those with that idea are either delusional or not yet parents. Parents need to invest time, energy, and focus to know the needs of your children, their strengths and weaknesses, and their likes and dislikes. If you have been just telling your children what is right and wrong, when to do and not do, how to do and not do, and lots of other pairings... but not listening and concentrating on them, you will not be able to help and guide them through the morass of childhood no matter how you attempt to 'chain' them.
I believe one of the main points of parenting is to guide your children toward developing of a set of behaviors beneficial to successful adulthood, which should include being great parents by among other things, letting their kids fail and recover, and setting a great example. If you have not already figured it out, this does NOT include a ball and chain with a timer and an emergency escape key.
The negatives far outweigh positives (if there are any). The main negative is a ball and chain normally has a prisoner attached: a criminal, a bad person, someone society has decided needs to be stripped of independent thought, control, and self-determination. Therefore, it is not just symbolic of, but is actual external control, and serves no purpose in the development of internal controls, which every parent should want for their children. Even if it did serve a little purpose, there are so many better ways!
It seems simply another frail attempt in a long line of ineffective and possibly destructive gadgets and shallow short cuts, which remove the parents from attending to their job as mentors and guides for their children.
Consequences should be associated with the transgression. Unless a kid is guilty of kidnapping, the use of a ball and chain would seem grossly inappropriate. The bottom line question is "Does this Study Ball serve the child in the long run, or the parent for the moment?"
DaMoKi
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Ishida 9-21-2009 @ 12:42PM
This is a bit ridiculous. The child would feel that he is a prisoner thus it would depend on us parents how to teach our child the pros of studying by not forcing them. Anyway, my child plays WoW with me and though my Rogue and Death Knight doesn't have the best gears and mounts yet since I didn't have enough gold. So, I tried my luck and I submitted an entry for a contest that can win me 500,000 gold just by simply giving a name to the twitter pig! You can try your luck as well, just visit: wowgoldpig.blogspot.com
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Mary Sullivan 5-27-2009 @ 10:01AM
Well, this device has to be a joke. I can't imagine anyone would actually buy that for their kids.
On homework, a Duke Univ. expert has analyzed 4 decades of HW studies and concluded that it does promote learning, but only in moderation--about 10 minutes a night per grade level...so a 2nd grader should only have 20 mins. of HW, a 4th grader 40 mins., etc. And even in high school, the ideal maximum is 2 hours. If your kid is doing more than the age appropriate level, talk to the teacher. No ball and chain required.
We do sometimes use a timer in our house, the Time Timer (visual timer)--but to motivate getting the work done quickly enough to have down time afterward, not to keep them sitting for a certain amount of time. It was my older son's idea to use it. Again, no chaining required.
Mary
http://www.squidoo.com/lovestamps
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Kelsey 5-27-2009 @ 10:59AM
From a 14-year-old's point-of-view, I can't decide whether this would be fun or torture. It would be fun the first few days because it is something new, and most kids who have trouble staying focused can't make the connection to jails and shackles, but then again, this would make some kids feel like homework is a real punishment, and they might react with a way the punishment can actually punish them on. This is also like tying a kid down to a chair, you just can't do it. Most parents should just have an instinct that SOMETHNG ISN"T RIGHT!!!
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