While I understand your point about kids and bowling, that frustration need not exist. I, as well as most kids I knew and grew up with were made well aware that we would probably not be good at bowling until we were “big”, and that was if we practiced. Fooling a kid into thinking he or she is good at something with a ball like this isn’t really teaching them anything. Half the fun at that age is just rolling a heavy ball around without being competitive. It can still be enjoyable.

My issue with this ball, and other things like it is that it sends out a false message to little kids. I can see a typical helicopter parent using this and telling their little darling that they are talented little bowlers. The day that they don’t have the help of this cheating tool, they will be far more disappointed than they were when they would be if they were made to understand that bowling, or any activity, is not something people are automatically good at, and that if they enjoy it, they can practice to improve.

I bowl several times per week and can attest that the process can be frustrating for small children even with the ramp and the bumpers. As far as preventing skill acquisition, understand that 4- and 5-year olds are not going bowling to develop skills or even to compete. They are there as part of a social activity – typically a birthday party – and they receive (and expect) no instructions from the hassled mommies who are chaperoning the group.

These balls are not meant to be purchased by individuals for personal use; they are for bowling alleys to keep in stock to make the game more enjoyable for young customers in the hopes that those children will then return as teenagers when they have the motor skills and strength to perform competitively.