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Children in The Sims 4 - Multitasking is key to running a Family
In this article, I will explain how to successfully raise a child in Sims 4. There is much more to raising a child than in Sims 3 and I personally find them to be much more enjoyable. Their interactions are cute and this helps to make up for the absence of toddlers in the game. They will keep you busy, though, so be ready!
Aspirations
Once a toddler ages up to child, the player will be able to choose a Childhood Aspiration and one Trait. There are 4 Aspirations to choose from: Artistic Prodigy, Rambunctious Scamp, Social Butterfly, and Whiz Kid. Of course, it's a good idea to choose a trait that goes well with the Aspiration. For example, Art Lover is a good trait to pair with Artistic Prodigy. A Sim will be a Child for 7 days on the Short lifespan, 14 days on Normal lifespan, and 52 days on Long lifespan.
School and Homework
Children will start Grade School on the first weekday after aging up to Child. Class is from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. While at school, the child will have the options for Normal, Leave School Early, Make Friends, Study Hard, and Slack Off. Just like in The Sims 3, the Make Friends option will add other children to the child's relationship panel, while also repleneshing the social need.
There will be tasks for each level working toward getting an A. The child will start with a C. To reach a grade of B, the tasks are to reach level 2 in 1 of the 4 available skills (Creativity, Mental, Motor, and Social), and Attend School while Focused. The easiest way to get into the ideal mood of Focused is to ponder moves on a Chess table just before going to School. This will give a moodlet that lasts for four hours, which is enough to accomplish the task. Completing Homework is the daily task, which functions a bit like a Career. It will help the bar move faster. Once the tasks have been completed and the meter bar goes all the way green to the right, the child will get an increase in grade.
To reach a grade of A, the child must Get 1 Skill to Level 4. Once the kid has an 'A', it's fairly easy to maintain. It's possible for grades to fall if the minimum amount of work is not done, which is to go to school every day and complete homework.
A parent can help with homework by clicking on the child once he/she has started working on it. Unassisted homework takes a little over 1 1/2 hours to complete. Having the parent help with homework cuts the time in half. The homework will be in the child's personal inventory at the time of aging up, so you can get a head start on school if you wish. Extra Credit Work becomes available after completing the regular homework if the child has at least a B grade. Just click on the homework again and it will show up. A parent may also help with Extra Credit. If homework has been missed, Makeup Homework shows up instead of Extra Credit.
Sim Children benefit from having higher Skill levels when it comes to Homework. Each Skill that they get to level 10 will increase the rate homework is done by 70%. When all Skills are maxed, Sim children will finish homework 8x faster! Thanks to DarkWalker from our Sims Community for sharing this info!
Doing Homework
Skipping School
If you cancel the Go to School action at 8:00 a.m., the child will stay home. The principal will call around 10:00 a.m. and again at 3:00 p.m. every day that the child misses school. His/her grades will gradually drop first to a D and then to an F by the time grade school is finished. I didn't get any negative moodlets until my child dropped to an F and then he had an Embarrassed moodlet. It was only for a couple of days, though, because he was ready to age up to teen. There were no other negative reactions at all. When he aged to teen, I was still able to choose his Aspiration and next trait. He started high school with a C, just like everyone else. The benefit for keeping him home was that he completed his Child Aspiration of Artistic Prodigy and gained a lot of Satisfaction Points as a result.
Child Skills
As already mentioned, children have 4 skills during their childhood years. These skills are Social, Mental, Creativity, and Motor. If a child is able to reach level 10 of any of the skills, related adult skills will be unlocked for children to get a head start or a special moodlet will be given.
Here are the Adult skills that are unlocked (allowing you to gain XP) by maxing the associated Child Skill:
If you complate an Aspiration, you will get a 20% boost to learning all Adult Skills in the appropriate category when they age up. This means they can then learn the missing skills they can't yet level, like Comedy and Painting, faster.
For the Social skill, a child needs to have conversations with other Sims. Other ways to increase the Social skill are to play with the dollhouse and talk to the large stuffed animals. Reaching level 10 will unlock the Charisma and Mischief adult skills. The child will be able to gain skill points in these areas before aging to teen.
This child is Hitting a Stuffed Animal out of Anger over something that happened at School
The Mental skill is gained by playing chess and using the science table. Children can also use the observatory to stargaze. Level 10 of this skill will unlock the adult skills of Logic, Video Games, and Fishing. Again, points for these skills may be gained by children before they age to teen.
Two Brothers Playing Chess to Learn Mental Skills
Creativity is gained by using the Activity Table and by playing with the dollhouse. As a child increases creativity, more kinds of drawings will be available on the Activity Table. Reaching level 10 in this skill will open the Piano and Violin skills.
Child Learning Creativity Using the Activity Table
The Motor skill can be built by using the monkey bars and jungle gym, and also by practicing typing on the computer. Adults can also have a bit of fun with the jungle gym by pretending to be a monster while children are playing. Reaching level 10 in this skill does not unlock an adult skill. It will, however, give an extra moodlet while playing on the monkey bars.
Learning the Motor Skill on Monkey Bars
I found it very difficult to reach level 10 on any of the Child Skills while playing on the Normal lifespan and dealing with needs at the same time. To make this happen for my twins, I had to use cheats to keep their needs full and even had to make them skip the last day of school in a desperate push to get the last things completed in time. Playing on the Long lifespan setting will give you plenty of time to do everything you want.
Child Aspirations
Children have their own Aspirations to work on before they tackle their adult Aspirations. The Child Aspirations are Artistic Prodigy, Rambunctious Scamp, Social Butterfly, and Whiz Kid. A child's Aspiration is chosen at the time a baby ages to child, at the same time the first trait is chosen. Some detail follows.
Playing Violin Increases the Creativity Skill
Artistic Prodigy
Total Satisfaction Gained: 1,100
Reward Trait: Creatively Gifted Children who achieve this Aspiration will build adult Creative skills faster (Painting, Instruments, Writing, Cooking).Milestone Objectives: Have an Activity Table, and draw 2 pictures while Inspired. You must then level the Creativity skill to 5, and play with 3 toys. In the end you'll have to play instruments for 5 total hours, draw all 5 picture types on the activity table, and max the Creativity Skill.
Explore My Mods! Color Picker for Builders, Seasons Tuner, Dine Out Reloaded and a Gameplay Overhaul! Like other modders, I've been working to make The Sims 4 a better game. Check out my many mods here!
Rambunctious Scamp
Total Satisfaction Gained: 925
Reward Trait: Physically Gifted Learn Adult Physical Skills faster (Fitness).Milestone Objectives: Play on a Jungle Gym while playful, and hit level 2 Motor Skill. The next stage requires you work on the Motor Skills (level 5) and Practice Typing for four hours. In the end you must master Motor Skills and make it across the monkey bars 3 times, while earning a high score on the Typing Game.
Learning Motor Skill on a Jungle Gym
Social Butterfly
Total Satisfaction Gained: 975
Reward Trait: Socially Gifted Learn Adult Social Skills faster (Charisma, Mischief, Comedy Skill).Milestone Objectives: Make a Friend and meet 5 new Sims. Achieve level 5 in the Social Skill while also making a BFF. At last you must be friends with 3 other Children and 2 Adults, while also mastering the Social Skill.
Twin Sisters Becoming BFFs
Whiz Kid
Total Satisfaction Gained: 1,175
Reward Trait: Mentally Gifted Lets the Whiz Kid learn adult Mental Skills faster (Rocket Science, Logic, Fishing, Video Gaming)Milestone Objectives: Be read to by an adult for 2 hours and play 3 games of Chess. Next, they will need to reach level 5 Mental Skill and Finish Homework 2 times while Focused. Your Child must ultimately achieve an A in School, craft 3 Emotional Potions and master the Mental Skill.
Mother is Reading to her Child
Managing Large Families
Many players like to have large families. This is entirely possible in Sims 4. The parents simply need to keep Trying for Baby to have as many kids as they want. It does add a lot of complexity to the game and it's much more difficult with a lot of children. The best thing is to stay organized. Keep all of the kids on a schedule with sleep, meals, showers, and school. Be sure to send them to bed with all needs in the green. Otherwise, they will get up in the middle of the night for something and then will be tired for school the next morning because they won't go back to bed on their own. Sometimes it will be better to have showers in the morning so that the kids can get the moodlets they need for school. The same goes for mornings. Make sure the children have all needs met before leaving for school so they'll have a better day. A parent or other adult can make breakfast and dinner, and use the Call to Meal interaction to get everyone to the table. This will keep the entire household on a schedule and they'll be able to take care of school, homework, and tasks with little problem. If you find you're unable to make a new meal for breakfast and dinner, try making several meals at once and storing them in the refrigerator. That way, at least the kids can get leftovers and stay on schedule.
Dining together keeps a Family on schedule and gives them time to visit with each other
I don't recommend a maid for helping around the house at this time. Things were getting backed up in the house with dirty showers, dirty sinks, and trash on the floor. I hired a maid for a single day's service at a price of $40 plus $20 per hour. I didn't even see her in the house, but when she left I was charged $120 and everything was still dirty. I honestly didn't see anything different at all. So, I suggest that the family members help out with chores around the house.
Keeping everyone organized and under control will become even harder if your mother keeps having kids. A family with 2 parents, a teen, and 3 children can be kept on track by feeding everyone with a good and social breakfast, getting showers as needed, then setting each Sim to a task on days when there is no school. The teen can be painting, one child playing a computer game, and twins playing chess together. They are busy and also working on important skills. It gives the parents a chance to garden together or have a nice work out in the home gym.
Babies, Adopting, and Pregnancy
Toddlers and Learning to Walk, Talk, and Potty
Childhood, School and Children's Aspirations
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The Sims 4 Seasons expansion now has options! Want to disable weather or make plants in season year-round? You can do so with my new Seasons Tuner Mod
The past month, I've spent every day tinkering The Sims 4, making quality of life improvements, gameplay changes, and new difficulty settings for the game. If you'd like to learn more about my project, visit the post on Patreon where you can download it now.
Cottage Living Guide! Here is my guide to new features in the Sims 4 Cottage Living Expansion
You can also find handy Cottage Living Cheats
I have much more to come, since you can actually write a few guides about this pack!
Blender has been incredibly useful in video production, so I made my own Physics and Simulation Improvement Addon that lumps a ton of unique tools into one compact interface.
Snowy Escape Cheats
Lifestyles in Snowy Escape
Climb Mt. Komorebi
Sentiments in Snowy Escape
Rock Climbing
Skiing Skill
Snowboarding Skill
I've released a guide to Sentiments in The Sims 4 & Snowy Escape.
There is a new platform tool in The Sims 4. There's also a new Sentiments system, but it'll take some time to create a guide to that. Players can also use rental lots in any world now by changing lot types of builds in manage worlds.
I've created a massive List of The Best Mods in The Sims 4 that should be very helpful to new players and those who have not yet explored modding and how much it can do for your gameplay.
New - Secrets I have a new guide to secrets in the game. If you prefer, you can also watch a video about secrets in Sims 4.
Nifty Knitting is now available. Learn all about the stuff pack on my guide page here.
NEW - Nifty Knitting CheatsNew features in the Sims 4 June 2020
The Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle Guide
Eco Footprint: How it Works
Neighborhood Action Plans
How to Cheat in Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle
Civil Designer Career
Insect Farms & Bio Fuel
Fabrication Skill in Eco Lifestyle
Juice Fizzing NEW
Traits and Aspirations in DLC
Gameplay Ideas for Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle
Updated
Trait Cheats Updated
Traits List Updated
Aspirations List Updated
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This is inspired by a new series in which I start at toddler and gradually take on the major bonuses. Here's a link to the full playlist!
I now have a guide page to Tiny Living Stuff where you can learn about Murphy Beds, the new death, as well as the lot bonuses you'll receive if you manage to keep the size of your lot down with this new pack's Tiny Home Lot Type.
New I now have a guide to Making Super Sims in The Sims 4. Look for a text version within the next 72h. It won't have THAT much more info but it will help out as a checklist.
This was inspired by a series, "Let's Play a Super Sim" in which I start at toddler and gradually take on the major bonuses. Here's a link to each part for people who are interested. You can also see the Let's Play as a Playlist on Youtube.
The Sims 4 Discover University has been announced for November 15 for PC/Mac and December 17 for Xbox and Playstation 4 consoles. Click to learn more about the pack, see my summary of the livestream or read our FAQs below.
Other Guides to Discover University:
New Lot Traits: Study Spot and University Student Hang Out
New: Discover University FAQ: Gameplay Features
New Video The Sims 4 Discover University Gameplay Tips Video
More videos coming soon!
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Comments (101)
First of all, THANK YOU for sharing your wealth of knowledge! Your website has been an asset to me throughout sims 3 and 4 with all the various expansions. You may want to update the child skills, my child is currently maxed in: Photography, Mischief, Video Gaming, Motor, Logic, Pipe Organ, Fishing, Social, Creativity, Mental, Charisma, Violin, Piano and Singing (14 skills total).
Perhaps we need to clarify just what the unlocked skills boost is and then make a different list of 'adult' skills that all children can learn.
Motor, Creative, Social, Mental (ofc the 4 child skills), Charisma, Mischief, Logic, Video Gaming, Violin, Piano, Fishing, Bowling, Media Production, Pipe Organ, Singing, Pet Training, Vampire Lore, Photography.
I have been trying to cram more skills onto my child sim but haven't any more other than these I just listed.
thankyou
So: so stats.set_skill_level skill_child_creativity 10
then you can use the normal skill cheat for violin
copy stats.set_skill_level major_violin 10
The quest does not work. Playing on climbing frame while Sim is playful. I tried many time but there is not nothing, even if my child has been playing all night and playful. What am I doing wrong? I do not understand.
It does work, your child sim needs to be playing on the pirate ship or the space ship from Base Game.
What helped me with large families is having a homemaker in a 2 parent household. Also having a parent who has completed the Master Chef aspiration as the food they prepare never spoils. This way you can leave the food out and toddlers can then help themselves. The nanny service is a great help with babies/toddlers.
FYI: At least for PS4 the Video Gaming skill is linked to the Motor skill. Playing video games helps my children sims develope their motor skill, and, once it has maxed out, they are able to learn the video gaming skill.
My child cane also learn singing skill after maxing out creativity and can now learn vampire knowledge, not sure what skill, if any, enabled that.
I'm starting my 10-11th generation and my first born is a girl, the next time I made the parents try for baby, I got triplets (1 girl, 2 boys). I've been dealing with triplets (even 2 sets of triplets in a single generation) ever since then and I'm honestly freaking out again,,,,,,,,,,,, ksksks. I hope I'll survive my chaotic triplets though.
Hi!
Just thought I'd let you know that you can also teach kids the Singing and Vampire Lore skills. My kids kinda learnt by accident haha!
Thank you so much for this guide though! I really needed it!
Yes there are many other skills children can learn but these are not affected by the bonuses given for completing a child aspiration so are not mentioned.
How i make friendship with the monster under bed?
Controlling the Sim Child click on the monster and talk to it
Question! I've maxxed out all 4 child skills so she can get a head start on adult skills but she can't learn any of them
It's a known bug. Bug Report here (click)
Children can also gain the Pet Training skill. Just learned that by accident today.
If your maid can't get in, check the lock status of your main door and make sure it is open to employees. Also, having problems getting 3/4 kids to learn fishing. All have maxed their childhood skills and aspirations (thanks to youth potions). Only one seems to learn fishing. I only wanted 2 kids, but 2nd turned out to be triplets.
Currently there is a game bug that effects children learning adult skills so the fact you were able to get one child to learn fishing, sadly, is a bonus right now.
good this will really help me out!
I have a family of 4 kids and 2 toddlers but the poor mum is waking up every night to deal with monster under the bed and their nanny never comes. I am scared the toddlers and going to get taken away. Poor Lola and Christopher( toddlers). Bad River, Ember, Aubrey and Arielle. BTW my sims name is Mole666 find this family on my page.
Use the defender wall night light, it will keep the monster away or spray under the bed before the kids go to sleep.
You forgot about fotography, bowling, pipes, pet training, vampire lore, singing...
a lot of skills outside the expansions and packs people already have can be added to child skills through the cheat window, and usually have an icon indicating the pack, or other symbol for skills outside what you already own.
vampire lore, pipe organ and bowling are just a few.
Sims children can also teach themselves to sing.
If you complete the Motor skill you get writing
Singing is also opened up when Children max out either Social or Creativity Skill set (I forget which one).
Thank you
My Sims have a lot of people. We have my 2 adults, 1 toddler, and 5 pets. I would ask you to do a website on how to manage a household with a kid and pets. From the Jefferys (Paul and Gordon)
a lot of those skills can be visibly maxed and used. motor allows fitness to be learned, which kids can get through the video game mats, swimming, and pushups/situps while energized. painting can be improved on the creativity table once creativity is maxed, it's just simple transitions for most of them.
keep using the child skill items like monkey bars and science table and see what change overs you notice.
I have also seen the child skill video games have an effect on adult skills after child skills are maxed in addition to increasing video gaming skill