Homework First: The Gift No Kid Wants For Christmas
Could you imagine waking up on Christmas morning to find this stuffed in your stocking? It’s called Homework First and it’s a lock that allows parents to block the Game Pak slot so that games can’t be inserted into the Nintendo! Obviously this is aimed at households where parents are having difficulty controlling the amount of time their kids spend playing Nintendo. The special lock can be found at select retailers for about $20. It is not licensed by Nintendo (hence it’s missing the Official Seal of Quality).
But, is this contraption the best solution? Setting proper guidelines and boundaries would probably do just as good of a job and you get the side benefit of not treating your children like criminals. It’s just as easy to unplug the power cord and store the NES away in a closet or something. Setting reasonable time limits per day and using game play time as an incentive and a positive reinforcement is probably the healthier way to go about these types of situations.
Still, if you’ve tried these things and continue to have problems with your kids spending too much time playing the Nintendo, this is one more alternative that’s sure to work. I’d rather see coal in my stocking…
[Photos Courtesy: Mike Martin]
Craig has been covering the video game industry since 1995. His work has been published across a wide spectrum of media sites. He’s currently the Editor-In-Chief of Nintendo Times and contributes to Gaming Age.
