Okay kiddo, imagine you're on a seesaw at a playground. If you're too light, you'll just go up and down really quickly and it won't be much fun. But if someone heavier sits on the other side, it'll balance out and you can go up and down smoothly.
A ballast is kind of like that person sitting on the seesaw. It's something that balances out weight in a system.
Let's say you have a really big ship that's carrying cargo. If the ship is empty, it might be too light and could tip over in big waves. But if you add a ballast to the ship, it makes it heavier and more stable. This is important to make sure the ship doesn't tip over and the cargo stays safe.
Ballasts can come in lots of different forms. Sometimes they're just heavy weights that are added to a system, like sandbags. Other times, they're more complicated systems that use water or air to change the weight of something. But ultimately, their job is always the same: to balance out weight and keep things stable.