Game On! Learning How To Beat The Kids

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Being a parent used to come with a lot of benefits when it came to games. Before the rise of video gaming, most of the things people would play involved a physical sport or cards and a board, giving experienced parents the chance to unleash hell upon their children in the occasional game. Nowadays, though, things have changed. With video games dominating the market, a lot parents don’t know where to start, and it can be hard to find the right path when you’re trying to improve. To help you out with this, this post will be exploring some of the easiest ways to get better at one of the most popular types of game; first-person shooters.

This sort of title is much more skill-based than a lot of games, and this is why people find it so hard. You may have some natural talents, but nothing will beat experience when it comes to being good at an FPS. Thankfully, you don’t have to wait, though, as you have the chance to start using other people’s from the start. To achieve this goal, you’re going to have to do some watching. Going through some professionally played games on sites like Youtube can be a great way to improve your skills, though it will be important to only focus on the game you’ll play.

Your learning isn’t going to stop here, as there will still be a lot to do, and it will be time to look into the idea of doing some practice. Using a controller isn’t anything like another control device you will interact with on a daily basis. Having a range of buttons and thumbsticks, they can be daunting at first, but get easier as time goes on and you find your own flow with it, and are designed to be used by anyone. With the controller mastered, you will be ready to play against some robots to test your ability to get headshots and other precision maneuvers.

Finally, as the last step you’ll need to take, it will be worth learning about the game which you’re playing. A lot of people ignore this aspect, and will have no idea how the game will react to different circumstances. In a game like Overwatch, for example, you have to know about all of the different class’ abilities, even if you only play on character. This enables you to perform counter plays when you hear the right voice lines or see visual cues. With companies like TKO hacks out there, though, you could also consider playing dirty to defeat the little ones. They will probably be a little angry if they ever find out, as cheating can take the fun out of a lot of games.

With all of this in mind, you should be feeling ready to pick up the controller and start destroying some competitors in the games your kids love the most. As time goes on, this sort of industry is only set to grow, and there are new games coming out all the time.

This post is a collaborative effort by St. Louis Dad.

Making History Cool In Your Kids’ Eyes

As you can probably tell from the rather obvious and blatant domain name (not to mention the massive logo on the home page), we live in St. Louis. It’s amazing. It really is. There is so much to do and see and explore and learn about. But despite all the hot contenders vying for the top spot of what makes this city so great, nothing beats the history of this place.

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Founded a quarter millennia ago, St. Louis, Missouri, has so much to make your jaw hit the floor. The city is absolutely riddled with caves, it’s where ice cream cones were reportedly introduced to the world, it used to be coffee’s major coffee hub, it’s home to one of America’s first skyscrapers (The Wainwright Building) and so much more. It’s a fascinating place.

The problem is, none of this stuff really appeals to a child. Sure, they may have a small interest in the drama of the past, but we live in a technological world and that means the future is far more fascinating. As my child said to me the other day, “there is a reason why our eyes are in the front of our head, dad.”

If you’re facing the same battle, don’t despair just yet because we’ve pulled together some genius ways to get your children interested in history, especially your local history. Enjoy.

1. Research To Blow Minds

We mentioned the caves that wind their way under the city, but what we didn’t mention is how these caves have been used for the 10,000 years, in which they have helped slave escape and bootleggers store their bits in hidden vaults. They were even turned into hidden taverns, underground churches, warehouses, nightclubs, roller rinks and, yes, a 300-seater theatre too. There is even rumour that one family used an underground river below their home as a swimming pool. We’re telling you this because these types of folklore stories have an incredible way of grabbing children by the brain and filling their imaginations with incredible possibilities. So, before you do anything else, do some research and, if you feel you need to, make up some stories to make it even more entertaining.

2. Bring Tech Into It

I find the iconic and futuristic arch in St Louis absolutely breathtaking, not least because the two sides had to be accurate within 1/64th of an inch during construction. That’s incredible. The problem is, my kid doesn’t really care about that sort of thing. But that all changed when we got a drone from this drone review site. It gave him an entirely new perspective, allowed him to get up close and personal with the arch and not relinquish his love for all things tech. I guess, what we did was embrace the past and the future in order to make both things work together in harmony and, wow, did it work.

3. Re-Enact The Past

We kind of get why kids may not be interested in looking at a scroll from a certain point in time that was written by someone they don’t really care about. As infuriating as it can be, it’s not as engaging as Angry Birds. However, no one can ignore the power of some kinesthetic learning. That’s the ‘learning by doing’ approach to you and me. So, with that in mind, why not take your child to a historical re-enactment day? There are many societies around the country covering all eras in history, so find a good event that’s close to where you live, take a picnic along and enjoy seeing your kids get overwhelmed by how cool history is.

This post is a collaborative effort by St. Louis Dad.

The Biggest Drains On Your Time As A Dadpreneur (And The Formula To Make It Work For Everyone)

One of the biggest challenges when you’re a dad and trying to start a business is the struggle of making the next leap up every rung of the ladder. While you might consider your work-life balance to be firmly in the position of the former, every considerable change in your business means you’ll have to put extra time in just to make sure these teething problems go without additional fuss. But what are the biggest drains on your resources every time you climb up the ladder?

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Technology Changes

Technology changes, in all its forms, require so many different hats for you to wear. The changes in the market dictates that we need to say head of the curve for us not to fall behind, whether this is changing our software for the most up-to-date version, implementing software patches, or finding different ways of creating new platforms. App development is one such approach that is vital to keeping contact with the customer, and for all the iOS and android app development companies out there that can do your bidding, you will find that the constant back and forth with each aspect, from the design team, to the marketers, will be a significant drain on your resources. So, when it comes to making these technology changes effective enough, but not to a detrimental effect on your family life, outsourcing is always one of the best options. But if you are running a start-up company, this isn’t an option; compartmentalizing your time, and working within office hours is only going to be the most suitable option. Creating that boundary between work and home life is important, but when you have so many different aspects to sign off, from the design, to the layout, to the content, every part of it demands your complete attention. So, making sure that it all happens within the working hours will benefit you, but also, in communicating the culture of a balanced work and home life, this will serve you in good stead for the business.

Moving Into An Office

As every business gains significant traction, the considerations of having a bigger space in which to do business is a necessary undertaking. If you have started your business modestly and work from home, and had employees do the same, moving from remote working to an office is a method to solidify your grand plan. However, moving into an office causes a lot of shake ups in the business as a whole, especially if you have many remote workers. The overall concerns relate to productivity, and if your staff can maintain this productivity, but also, you might have so many people jump ship because of the fact that you are now in an office environment. The change from remote working to a physical space where you have to clock in and clock out and do the nine to five really isn’t for many people now. This is why the modern worker demands a lot of flexibility, and part of this includes flexible working arrangements. Of course, you can’t please everyone in moving from remote working to an office, this was probably part of the plan all along, as long as you communicated it with your workers. This goes back to the idea of the bigger picture. But when making the move, it can be a big undertaking, and can result in a few hours away from home. The best approach in this is to communicate the fact that it’s something that will be a small sacrifice now, but will have a much better outcome for everyone concerned, including your family.

Making Your Leadership Better

This is not a quick fix. It is something that can take a long time to get right. And whether you need to learn by doing, or by delving into appropriate research, it’s important for you to put in the 10,000 hours needed. Making your skills as a leader a vast improvement, can be a testing time, not just for you, but for those close to you. While you can check the balance family in favor of your family, you do need to ask yourself if you are doing everything you can for the benefit of your company? This is where some sense of compartmentalizing comes in handy, but by being rigid and sticking to the allocated time with each area of your life, from business, to family time, to self-development, as well as rest, it is really the only solution to ensure that you are putting as much time as you physically can. Another approach would be having a personal assistant, so they can keep your life on track for you, but for those entrepreneurs who are not financially able to do this, being extremely organized is going to be the way to help. This can be an emotional undertaking, because of the drains on your resources as a person, but there are sacrifices you have to make in this respect, but your body and frame of mind are not sacrifices! Instead, by making room in your life for the big 4: work, life, rest, and self-improvement, you should have everything you need within these four categories.

As an entrepreneur, but also as a father, time is one of those resources that you can never get enough of. It’s vital for you to understand how you can make the most of your time, but also understand what the biggest drains are on your resources, in business, but also in life. While so many people push the work-life balance, it’s not just about those two, by adding in self-improvement and the time to rest, only then will you be fully functioning in every area of your life. And, of course, it’s not the simplest of equations to work out. But, once you understand where you can make allowances in life, and figure out ways to cut corners without it impacting negatively on certain areas of your life or work, your overall quality of life will improve significantly as a result. We could all do with more time, but do you want to make more time to the detriment of your health, or do you want to make it beneficial to every area of your life, from your employees, to your children, to your overall frame of mind? Climbing the ladder each time shouldn’t be a drain, it should be a celebration. Make it so.

This post is a collaborative effort by St. Louis Dad.