Parenting Fail - The VG Press - Aggregate gaming news, forums, blogs and reviews

Ellyoda

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Mon, 18 May 2009 22:29:04

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I don't now, or expect ever to have children, but I've got to say the way parenting is perceived in the western world is incredibly perverted.

For the epitome of the culture of placing the parent as lord, I present to you...

The Study Ball

Parents struggling to get their kids to revise in the run-up to exams can now keep them at their desk using a ball and chain that only unlocks when they have studied for long enough.

Concerned mums and dads set the desired study time on the Study Ball and attach it to their child's ankle.

A red digital display counts down the "Study Time Left" and the device beeps and unlocks when the time expires.

The prison-style device weighs 9.5 kg (21 pounds), making it difficult to move while wearing it.

It cannot be locked for more than four hours and comes with a safety key that allows the manacle to be opened at anytime.

The ball and chain costs £75 and is sold online at curiosite.com.

The website says: "Quite often, students who are having problems concentrating tend to get up every ten minutes to watch TV, talk on the phone, take something out of the fridge, and a long list of other distractions.

"Were they to dedicate all this wasted time to studying, they would optimise their performance and have more free time available.

"Study Ball helps you study more and more efficiently."

Designer Emilio Alarcon came up with the idea after a friend likened revision to being in jail.

He said: "Studying can be fun and enriching if you do it once in a while, but no one likes to study for days on end, especially not with an exam date looming overhead.

"The project was born of a conversation I had with a friend who was studying for a civil service exam.

"He said 'I haven't left the house in a week, this is like being in jail'."

Firstly, they should define "study." The concept of "study" here means to essentially memorize your notes in preparation for a test. At the least you should substantiate the value in that, as I have vastly improved my ability to learn by progressively eliminating all studying having started in high school, and proceeded through college.

Secondly, they need to address why the child doesn't study, and why it is of value. You're doing nothing by putting them through the motions for motions sake.

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Tell me to get back to rewriting this site so it's not horrible on mobile

rragnaar

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Mon, 18 May 2009 22:36:55

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... wow, that is just awful. It is too bad that parents want to hand parenting over to gizmos and gadgets, whether it is just plopping a kid down in front of a TV, or literally putting a fucking ball and chain on their leg.