So, I realize this is an old thread, but I thought I'd throw my random tips somewhere just in case someone has trouble with toddlers and comes looking for advice. I pretty consistently get top notch toddlers now, and my first time getting top notch was with two sets of twins, all four came out top notch, but I'm also a micromanager, so ymmv.
#1 most important thing: become friends with your pause button while they're toddlers. Do not leave a single one of them doing whatever they want, always make sure you've got them working on an assigned activity.
When you get the second birthday notification, feed, rock, and change the baby's diaper. This usually ensures that the newly aged up toddler will have full needs. Just in case, though, make sure you have a bakers rack with at least one party size garden salad in it just before they age up.
Here's the order I like to go in when maxing toddler skills:
1) Thinking
2) Movement
3) Imagination
4) Communication
- Potty usually gets maxed somewhere in the middle. Potty is one of the few skills I'd recommend having an adult sim work with the toddler on, all other skills can easily be maxed without any other sim interaction. In fact, once you hit potty level 2, you're fine to just direct them to use the potty whenever they need to, they'll still max it before their birthday working on it on their own.
Thinking - Click on another sim, click more, click friendly, select 'watch'. Best to do this with a sim that is working on something stationary, like building comedy on the microphone, or woodworking, or painting, etc. If you have multiple toddlers, even better! Just have them 'watch' each other at the same time. If you pause your game first, you can queue up about seven 'watch' interactions, and they'll just flow through them. I can usually max thinking in a single day like this.
Movement - If you have 'toddler stuff', this is kind of an easy skill to max, but it still takes the longest out of all the toddler skills. Just direct them to play in the ball pit over and over. I find it takes me about 2-3 sets of times of playing in the ball pit between toddler sleep cycles. If you don't have 'toddler stuff', then don't fear, it'll just take you a while longer, and is best to do with another sim involved. Alternate between stacking on the block set, with an adult 'teaching blocks', and using the 'play' interaction between another sim and the toddler. Ball pit really is the best, and is worth the cash imo just for it with toddler stuff. I love being able to send toddlers into the ball pit, queue it up seven times, and focus on another sim for a little bit. Check back on the toddler now and then to make sure their needs aren't too low or that they haven't run out of 'play in ball pit' queued actions.
Imagination -
Never pass up an opportunity to have another sim read to a toddler, if they're free. Toddler eating? Have a sim read to them. Bed time for the toddler? Always read to sleep, do not ever just send them to sleep. If you have a free adult/teen sim in the house, this skill is best built via reading to the toddler, but if you don't want to tear your other sims away from what they're working on, get a toy box and just have the toddler play with a toy over and over. Much faster than the dollhouse, but not quite as fast as being read to.
Communication - I always leave this skill for last, because it is literally the
easiest skill to max out of all of them, potty included, and that's only a three level skill. Get one of the stuffed animals--ie, the big stuffed bear--and just queue up 'babble' a thousand times, then 'talk' a thousand times when it becomes available. It literally takes like three or four sim hours to max communication doing this. Never waste time teaching a toddler to talk, or having them talk to other sims, because nothing is as fast as that stuffed bear.
As far as toddler needs:
Have everything in one room. Toddler bed, couch, bookshelf, bakers display case, toy box, ball pit, potty chair. All one room, so the toddler can get to everything they need without having to waste time running between rooms and letting their needs drop. Keep garden salads stacked up in the display case. I recommend garden salads because it keeps the toddlers from getting chubby.
If you need a toddler minder, get a butler, not a nanny. Butlers are more attentive. You don't need to worry about the toddler being fed, because you've got the display case and can take care of that yourself, but you can invite the butler to potty train and read books to them. Also, it's always best to have the toddler initiate any training, rather than the other sim, because if the toddler initiates then they won't rebel and get that angry moodlet. But honestly, I never really need to have another sim to take care of my toddlers--they can easily max all their skills on their own once potty is at level 2.
Oh, and btw, toddlers can gain potty skill when 'watching' another toddler on the potty.
