Tips For Parenting In The Sims 4

April 27, 2024

Highlights

Have positive family dynamics for better interactions and buffs between Sims.
Complete family-focused aspirations to teach good character values to children.
Level up the parenting skill before having kids to make parenting easier.

Parenting can be surprisingly difficult in the world of The Sims 4, especially if the Sims are fortunate enough to have multiple children at once (it’s rare, but it happens), or when the players are doing various ambitious challenges, such as the 100 Babies challenge.

Building homes is one of the most fun activities in The Sims 4, but it can seem daunting. These tips make it easy and fun to build gorgeous homes.

That’s when all stakes are off, and it can be almost impossible to take care of all the children in a way they deserve. Fortunately, Sims 4 players tend to be resilient, so since the game’s release, they have figured out multiple ways to succeed at parenting in the game, regardless of whether their families have one child or fifty.

Updated on April 27, 2024, by Taylor Pittman: In The Sims 4, players can simulate almost every aspect of life, including raising kids. While children and teens are more independent, parent Sims will have their hands full with newborns, infants, and toddlers if any become a part of the family. Players with the Parenthood Game Pack get even more dynamic family content. With so many things to keep track of, this article has been updated to include more tips, tricks, and advice on parenting in The Sims 4.

9 Have Positive Family Dynamics

Family Members Can Have Unique Interactions

Growing Together Expansion Pack

Parents can help their children and foster closer relationships with them if they have positive Family Dynamics. Family Dynamics is a system built into the game from Growing Together that influences how Sims interact with their family members. While any Sim can form a dynamic, the one that parents have with their kids is especially important.

Family Dynamics such as Close, Jokesters, and Supportive are positive dynamics children Sims can have with their caregivers. Whenever the two Sims interact, they will both receive a positive buff. Negative Family Dynamics can change with enough positive interaction, but sometimes it can result in creative storylines.

8 Complete Family-Focused Aspirations

Teach Children Good Character Values

The Super Parent Aspiration in The Sims 4

While the base game has some Family Aspirations, players can take on the Super Parent Aspiration with the Parenthood game pack. Super Parent Sims are ten out of ten all-around good parents. The aspiration tasks involve spending time with their children, helping them age, and teaching them character values.

Character values include manners, responsibility, conflict resolution, and more. Sims who grow up and earn points toward each value will receive additional traits once they become adults that reflect their final points in each category. The Super Parent Aspiration also focuses on the Parenting social interactions that come with the pack.

7 Host Play Dates For Toddlers

Help Children Make Life-Long Friends

Toddlers in The Sims 4 using a table and chair set sized perfectly for them

Socializing is important for Sims regardless of their age. Parents should ensure they spend time with their kids but also let them have friends their own age. Taking children to the park, having birthday parties, or letting them invite friends after school are great ways to do this. Players with the Toddler Stuff pack can help their kids get a head start on this with the Toddler Play Date social event.

Toddler Play Dates are a great way for neighborhood toddlers to get together and play with toys, listen to stories, and use playground equipment. On top of that, the event is just plain adorable.

6 Level Up Before Becoming Parents

Parenting Is A 10 Level Skill

A good way to make parenting much easier in The Sims 4 is to level up the skill even before the Sim starts a family. Just like all skills in the game, it’s also possible to level up parenting by studying it in books. This way, the Sims won’t be out of their depths as much when their future children arrive in the world.

If they hit the maximum level ten before becoming parents, they can easily use the full parent mode afterward, which allows the parents to slow down the decay of their needs and focus on their kids instead. The Sims will also be able to perform parenting tasks with much greater ease, and as a bonus, they will get a happy moodlet that lasts for two hours.

5 Make A Lot Of Food In Advance

Children Need To Eat Every Day

In the world of The Sims 4, some things that would look unacceptable in real life are perfectly alright. For example, buying the high chair for the toddlers and having them sit at the desk while they eat is time-consuming, especially if Sims have more toddlers at once.

A combination of different builds from save files made by Simmers in the Sims 4 community

The best way to freshen up one’s next playthrough of The Sims 4 is by downloading some of these amazing save files.

Instead, it helps to cook multiple portions of one meal and put the finished food somewhere where the toddlers can grab it for themselves whenever they get hungry. This means that they will most likely be eating their food on the floor, and there will be empty plates everywhere, but at least the parents will have a bit more time to attend to their own needs.

4 Use The Older Siblings

Teens And Younger Siblings Can Bond

If the household is full of children of various ages, there isn’t a single reason why the older children can’t help with taking care of their younger siblings. The only potential problem is that their parenting skills aren’t as high, so it will take the teen-aged Sims a bit more time to teach toddlers how to use the potty, for example.

Still, it’s a good way to allow the parents to get some rest. Teenagers can also help children with their homework. And if the older siblings aren’t available because they’re in school, another tried-out way to entertain the toddlers and make them level up their skills is to just buy tablets and have them play games on them.

3 Choose The Right Traits

A Good Trait Can Make All The Difference

The Sims 4 has an important advantage against real life – it allows Sims to pick their children’s character traits. Some traits make the parenting process more challenging, while others simplify it.

For example, a good trait for any toddler is the independent trait. An independent toddler wants to learn everything alone, and they will spend a lot of time working on their skills (including the potty) without needing their parents’ assistance.

2 It’s The Little Things That Count

Being Attentive Is Important For Parents

Some helpful parenting tricks in The Sims 4 are so small and easy to miss that most players don’t pay attention to them. Yet they can be very helpful. For example, if the parent finds the time to read their toddler a bedtime story before going to bed, the toddler is less likely to wake up crying because they had a nightmare.

Greatest-Pre-Made-Families-From-The-Sims-4,-Ranked

Players are free to create their own family in The Sims 4, but those feeling a little less creative can simply choose among these pre-made ones.

If the house has more than one story, it helps to keep all the things for toddlers on a single floor since it saves time and makes the toddlers happier. And finally, it’s sometimes not a bad idea to let the toddler make a mess since, by doing this, they’re actually gaining new skills. Plus, if an older child later cleans the mess, they get extra points for responsibility, which is always useful.

1 Have A Parent Stay At Home Or Hire A Nanny

Raising Kids Is A Full-Time Job

Growing Together Expansion Pack

Unless the Sim is a single parent, it helps to have one Sim from the couple stay at home while the children are very young. They can either work from home or take a break from their job. If none of these options are possible, the family can always hire a nanny.

Whatever the case, there always has to be at least one adult Sim with the toddlers and babies in the house. Another alternative is to call the grandparents into action and have them temporarily stay in the household with the Stay Over Event from Growing Together, at least if they’re still alive by the time their children have kids.