Daycare Profession

[Katie123urgreat]

I've had the Generations EP for a while now, and I still haven't tried out the Daycare Profession.
I have read Carl's guide to it, but I would like some other opinions too. Did you find the profession hard, does it take to much time out of the person's life? Is it rewarding in the end (money wise)? Do kids come every day of the week? Thanks! 

[Pam]

If you love toddlers, then this is a fun profession.  It never pays much, though.  The kids come Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Sometimes you get asked to watch one or two on the weekend, but it's optional.  You'll also be asked to watch them late some days.  So, yes, I'd say it takes a lot of your Sim's time.

[Katie123urgreat]

If you love toddlers, then this is a fun profession.  It never pays much, though.  The kids come Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Sometimes you get asked to watch one or two on the weekend, but it's optional.  You'll also be asked to watch them late some days.  So, yes, I'd say it takes a lot of your Sim's time.

Okay, thank you so much Pam for your wonderful answer! 

[Pam]

Okay, thank you so much Pam for your wonderful answer! 

You're welcome.  If there's anything else you need to know, just ask! 

[amyrose]

The kids come Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

They come Monday through Thursday 9am to 7pm. I'm playing a daycare at the moment, and it is a lot of work until you get used to caring for the toddlers. My advice would be have plenty of toys, toy boxes and teddy bears on your lot. The toddlers will play with them keeping their fun levels high. If you get the time, teach a toddler their skills - walking, talking and potty. If you teach all of them to the toddler, chances are you will get a big bonus from the parents.

When you get high enough in the career you will have to care for children after school. Make sure they do their homework first and then send them to play. I've found its the easiest way of handling them.

[m.sato]

The payment itself is not a big deal, but you get gifts by the end of the career which may be quite lucrative; about time you can pretty much forget anything else, especially if your sim takes the emergencies. That's if you're playing single simed.

The trick to daycare is having more than one sim around, because "caring" doesn't need to be done by the specific sim who's in the career; having an astronaut or a couple teenage kids in the household will leave your sim time to do other, likely lucrative, stuff.

A final note: never, ever leave the problem child on its own!

[Katie123urgreat]

You're welcome.  If there's anything else you need to know, just ask! 

Yes, I sure will ask when a problem arises.

@Amyrose and m.sato
Thank you both for very detailed answers and for your tips. I might do the Daycare Profession as a little challenge.
But do you recommend having more than one sim caring, because having only one seems daunting? But I understand that only one of them can have the profession or you might have double the kids...

[amyrose]

But do you recommend having more than one sim caring, because having only one seems daunting? But I understand that only one of them can have the profession or you might have double the kids...

Other sims under your control can care for the toddlers even if they are not in the daycare profession. So you could have sim A registered as daycare, and sim B registered as a self-employed artist. Both of these sims would be able to interact with and care for toddlers, even though sim B is not registered in the daycare career.

[m.sato]

But do you recommend having more than one sim caring, because having only one seems daunting?

I don't recommend, the game practically imposes it; it's not dauting, it's the much more than that, like being a single mom of 6 (literally), but with less money. It's impossible to care of all the kids and keep the house clean and functional (your sim will not have the silemons to hire maids and repairmen)

In the final level of the carrer there will be 6 kids, toddlers and children in any proportion, and if turns out to be 6 toddlers, your sim will, literally, pee in its pants, for there will be no time for such luxuries as toilets if it's alone.

But I understand that only one of them can have the profession or you might have double the kids...

The game doesn't allow for two sims of the same household to be in daycare profession, so there will never be double kids as you said.

Reminding: never, ever leave the problem child on its own!

[amyrose]

I don't recommend, the game practically imposes it; it's not dauting, it's the much more than that, like being a single mom of 6 (literally), but with less money. It's impossible to care of all the kids and keep the house clean and functional (your sim will not have the silemons to hire maids and repairmen)

I'm managing to do it with a single sim who is a mother of twin toddlers, but it is definitely not easy. I'm doing it as sort of a challenge. Giving your sim the Neat and Handy traits will help enormously with the endless breakages and cleaning. The lack of money is a issue, so to help I sometimes have my sim collect gems, rocks and metals on her days off. Knowing where the rare ones spawn in Sunset Valley is a huge help. I also took the Inheritance LTR, which allowed me to upgrade the house.

Reminding: never, ever leave the problem child on its own!

This is one of the most important pieces of advice in this thread. Here's the topic I started about problem children a while ago to back this up - http://www.carls-sims-3-guide.com/forum/index.php/topic,9829.0.html

[Britt93414]

When I first got Generations, Daycare was the first thing I tried. I had a sim and a toddler as my starting family. I started off playing with my toddler and got her trained before I started the profession, then had the mother start the daycare profession. Carl's guide is really awesome. Thats how I made it as far as I did. My sim ran through the ranks quickly, even when I had to deal with a stuck toddler. I really enjoyed it, but it does take a lot of time, if I didn't have the daughter too I wouldn't have done as well I think. I had the daughter to clean up stuff and when she turned teen she was able to help not only with the toddlers, but with the school kids that came after school. She did her homework with them and stuff like that.

Hope I was helpful,
Britt

[Katie123urgreat]

Thank you everybody who helped and has given me heaps of advice. Now I will start the daycare profession with your tips in mind! Well, I won't be able to start for a while because of my load of homework.... and the mid-year exams creeping up in a month. 

[ilovethesims]

I think that Daycare pays very little for all the work that you have to put into it. At Level 1, the Sim doesn't have any of the Daycare skills yet, so to put the babies in a good mood you have to raise up their mood individually. At higher levels you will acquire skills like storytelling which is a great way to raise the mood bar of the children as a group so it's very efficient. But if you really like children, Daycare is the career to pursue.

[SophieeSims]

Is this for the sims 4