Study Ball...aka...borderline abuse

I was listening to the radio this am and they started talking about the Study
Ball. Below is the discription:

"The Study Ball gadget is a prison-style ball and chain that you can program to
keep track of how much time you spend studying. Once you've selected the desired duration,you chain the ball to your ankle and the manacle won't come off until
the schedule study time is up. A red LED indicator displays the "Study Time Left" and keeps you informed as to how much longer you've got to keep studying.The ball and chain are made of highly durable steel and weighs a total of 9.5 kg/20.95 pounds,which makes it difficult to move while wearing it."

All I can say is are you kidding me right now? I think that this is a disgrace. I believe that parent's need to teach their children the importance of homework/studing, and explain to them why it's important to want to learn. Putting a 20 pound weight(which is not even heavy) on a child teaches them nothing. In my opinion it would just make it even worse...who wants to be chained down? That would be more of a distraction then a help.

This seems like a stupid gadet that will allow parents to ignore thier children even more, so that they can go about their own business with the hopes that this "magic" product will save their child. I think that parent's need to help their children more and possibly supervise them? Granted, I don't have any children, so maybe I don't understand. However, I know that my mother helped my sisters and I with homework, quizzed us before test, and explained to us why learning was important. I did all my homework, studied, and passed all my classes.

I was taught at a young age about the importance of respect, and I think that is one of the most important lessions a child should learn. If a child understands that you must respect your elders, they will not be little shit heads to any adults...teachers, coaches, princplies, and the parent. Granted, I was not a perfect child, but I was a good kid; for the most part I did what I was supposed to do, and never got caught doing what I wasn't supposed to. One thing is forsure though, I always treated people with respect. Without that basic element of respect, I think it would have been easier to not do the right thing. For a child that would be...talking back to teachers and parents, not caring about what they are told to do by them, so on and so forth.

This just seems like a cop-out, something that allows parents to point the finger of blame at if their child's grades don't improve. Being a parent is not easy and it is a huge responsiblity- reason why at this point in my life I don't have a child. I just wish that parent's would take more of an active interset in their childes life, instead of chaning them down to do their homework. To me, this is a form of abuse and neglect.