Forum Discussion

Godleyjeans's avatar
Godleyjeans
Newcomer
6 years ago

Babies, toddlers and children—OH MY!

Excuse the opening pun, I’m sort of dealing with a possible ear infection that’s decided to make one side of my face play musical agonising teeth so let’s jump into the post before I realise how poor a choice I’ve made making yet another thread.

University is in the horizon, simmers, we have just over two weeks until it’s release and with the hype over keg stands, youthful mischief and stressful exam deadlines, I’m wondering, what does this mean for the education of the younger sims? Are we just going to leave them out to stand in the rain and not bring anything interesting and useful to the table? Are young adults/teenagers the only source of school story we are going to have in the sims 4?

Well that’s why I’m here! To ask the big question and hopefully get an answer that’s more than a “we can only do so much” and semi aggressive comment from annoyed simmers.

I know, how would babies get an education? Why do they need to be mentioned on a topic mainly aimed at toddlers with pre school, children with primary and teenagers with high school and so on? Well, if babies were upgraded, able to move around and be placed somewhere other than a cheap attempt at a crib, they could slowly and adorably build skills on a play-mat, built to be used by babies and toddlers and joint interactions by older sims to help aid the child in their learning, or to just have fun by shaking the little ornaments that hang over Junior. it sounds silly, but what’s the harm in babies being able to be given lessons in the womb? Their parent or parents read them a story, or if one or both of them are geniuses, some sort of manual on rocket science! Taught the alphabet, numbers, something cute that parents to be do now but in sims, can and will have an impact on the child! Maybe even cooperate sims making a joke presentation board to show to the newborn or toddler, education doesn’t have to be serious all the time.

Toddlers are sort of similar but have added pre school bonuses and more educational toys to enjoy, maybe even an early learning tv channel for them to sit and watch with the older sims, a spoof of Barney or something like that.

Child sims already have school, however, a patch or education game pack of their own could easily add boarding school, camping trips, detention, proper punishments for doing such at such while at school, odd jobs to earn money like a paper or post round, science fairs, better projects, show and tells involving pets or parents, life skill building toys (mini oven or kitchen sets for kids), maybe even the ability to run a lemonade stand again! But with the added extras of making or breaking a rival stand (neighbour kid sets up their own, you can mess it up).

Teens are sort of the mid way point of children and adults, this could be a chance for them to interact with a lot of things as they are their own middle ground of age, helping siblings bake, baby sitting being an active thing while the parents are away or as an active career that isn’t just a rabbit hole, the ability to refuse to go to school and hide in bed, or fake going to school and actually being under something, hiding in the treehouse, something funny like that to lesson the seriousness of growing up.
Maybe teens could have baby raising projects using bags of flower or strange looking baby robots that malfunction now and again, apprenticeships that can make or break grades and access to certain collages, throwing house parties that can trash the place and land them in epic trouble with their parents and the law, binging movies on a sick day off school, actually being sick one starters!

There is so much EA could add to better education in the game as a whole and I think University could be the starting point.

Agree to disagree, but let’s keep this thread friendly and open.

Comment your ideas and feedback, have a nice day and I’ll see you later!

Dag dag
  • Movotti's avatar
    Movotti
    New Spectator
    "Godleyjeans;d-968099" wrote:
    detention
    was only a lunch-time thing at my school. No after school detention, nor at any times other than lunch (or maybe recess). It was the same for secondary school.
    Detaining the kids outside of school hours would meant that the teacher would have to get them home after, since the buses would have already left. And it would be illegal to prevent the child from going home.

    proper punishments for doing such at such while at school,
    Like what? Are you suggesting that lunchtime detention is not enough?
    Suspension and expulsion are the most extreme punishments.


    access to certain collages
    Access to university in Australia is based on your academic results. Fail to achieve adequate grades, and you can not access university without doing a bridging course, or using TAFE as a stepping stone.


    throwing house parties that can trash the place and land them in epic trouble with their parents
    ts3 had that option, when the adults of the house won a rabbithole holiday.


    binging movies on a sick day off school, actually being sick one starters!
    They should be wrapped in a blanket, and have an ever growing pile of used tissues next to them. If they don't stay home when they're sick, then their entire class should also end up sick too, and they receive messages saying 'thanks for sharing' and 'sharing is not caring'



    Dag dag

    The Dag is my favorite character in Mad Max Fury Road.
    https://media1.giphy.com/media/AaiJ9DmkG5p2E/source.gif

    dag
    noun
    1.
    AUSTRALIAN/NZ
    a lock of wool matted with dung hanging from the hindquarters of a sheep.
    2.
    INFORMAL•AUSTRALIAN/NZ
    an entertainingly eccentric person; a character.
    "your father must have been a bit of a dag"

  • "Well, if babies were upgraded, able to move around and be placed somewhere other than a cheap attempt at a crib, they could slowly and adorably build skills on a play-mat."

    You have no idea how much I want this. TS4 really needs older babies who can start their early development. There's such a huge noticeable gap between the babies and toddlers which really needs to be built upon. Babies learning to crawl, then stand and say their first few words would really help with adding depth and providing meaningful interactions between parent and child.
  • I will be honest, children and toddlers to me are simply a stage they have to go through to get to be an adult or young adult. But since I play with my aging off maybe others do too in which case the toddler, child and teenager stage is a permanent thing.

    I think they could add in some of the items they had for the Sims 2 and 3 for toddlers and children. But I also think that they have already made a stuff pack devoted just to toddlers and made a parenthood pack that added a lot of realism to the interactions of sim parents and their children. I think in this version they made children, teens and toddlers more real. (My one teen is having a huge mental crisis at the moment and is fighting with her dad). It makes me think, considering what they did with Parenthood, that instead of just giving us items they gave us interactions instead to help our sim parents raise their children. Those character values for positive or negative will have a lifelong impact on the child/toddler/teenager. They determine what kind of sim they grow up to be, will affect how they interact with the world and sims around them. From all I remember of the Sims 2, I think that what they did in the Sims 4 is so much more important than earning a few extra points in charisma, logic and creativity at an early stage of life development. The point I am trying to make is that I simply don't know what they could add that would be more valuable than what they have done. Now sim parents have to really interact with their sim children not just give them a toy to play with. Stuff is nice but relationship and values are more important.

    As for babies, I did like the items that were put in like the play mat and swing in the Sims 3 but like I said, to me this is such a temporary stage that I wonder if it's worth it if they could add in something else.
  • "RebeccaThurston;c-17293292" wrote:
    I will be honest, children and toddlers to me are simply a stage they have to go through to get to be an adult or young adult. But since I play with my aging off maybe others do too in which case the toddler, child and teenager stage is a permanent thing.

    I think they could add in some of the items they had for the Sims 2 and 3 for toddlers and children. But I also think that they have already made a stuff pack devoted just to toddlers and made a parenthood pack that added a lot of realism to the interactions of sim parents and their children. I think in this version they made children, teens and toddlers more real. (My one teen is having a huge mental crisis at the moment and is fighting with her dad). It makes me think, considering what they did with Parenthood, that instead of just giving us items they gave us interactions instead to help our sim parents raise their children. Those character values for positive or negative will have a lifelong impact on the child/toddler/teenager. They determine what kind of sim they grow up to be, will affect how they interact with the world and sims around them. From all I remember of the Sims 2, I think that what they did in the Sims 4 is so much more important than earning a few extra points in charisma, logic and creativity at an early stage of life development. The point I am trying to make is that I simply don't know what they could add that would be more valuable than what they have done. Now sim parents have to really interact with their sim children not just give them a toy to play with. Stuff is nice but relationship and values are more important.

    As for babies, I did like the items that were put in like the play mat and swing in the Sims 3 but like I said, to me this is such a temporary stage that I wonder if it's worth it if they could add in something else.


    I totally agree about the changes Parenthood brought. My Sims in previous games never seemed to know that they were parents, whereas in S4, there are numerous ways in which parents and children can interact, building a more real parent-child relationship.

    I like the baby stage, but I think they could do more with it. And we haven't really had any new objects or game play for toddlers and kids in quite a while. (Island Living did give us swimming in the ocean and playing in the sand, but that was limited to the island world.) I'd really like some new objects with new animations and interactions and maybe some new skills. At very least, it would be nice to get something new to build the 'thinking' skill for toddlers.
  • userafw's avatar
    userafw
    New Spectator
    "Godleyjeans;d-968099" wrote:
    Excuse the opening pun, I’m sort of dealing with a possible ear infection that’s decided to make one side of my face play musical agonising teeth so let’s jump into the post before I realise how poor a choice I’ve made making yet another thread.

    University is in the horizon, simmers, we have just over two weeks until it’s release and with the hype over keg stands, youthful mischief and stressful exam deadlines, I’m wondering, what does this mean for the education of the younger sims? Are we just going to leave them out to stand in the rain and not bring anything interesting and useful to the table? Are young adults/teenagers the only source of school story we are going to have in the sims 4?

    Well that’s why I’m here! To ask the big question and hopefully get an answer that’s more than a “we can only do so much” and semi aggressive comment from annoyed simmers.

    I know, how would babies get an education? Why do they need to be mentioned on a topic mainly aimed at toddlers with pre school, children with primary and teenagers with high school and so on? Well, if babies were upgraded, able to move around and be placed somewhere other than a cheap attempt at a crib, they could slowly and adorably build skills on a play-mat, built to be used by babies and toddlers and joint interactions by older sims to help aid the child in their learning, or to just have fun by shaking the little ornaments that hang over Junior. it sounds silly, but what’s the harm in babies being able to be given lessons in the womb? Their parent or parents read them a story, or if one or both of them are geniuses, some sort of manual on rocket science! Taught the alphabet, numbers, something cute that parents to be do now but in sims, can and will have an impact on the child! Maybe even cooperate sims making a joke presentation board to show to the newborn or toddler, education doesn’t have to be serious all the time.

    Toddlers are sort of similar but have added pre school bonuses and more educational toys to enjoy, maybe even an early learning tv channel for them to sit and watch with the older sims, a spoof of Barney or something like that.

    Child sims already have school, however, a patch or education game pack of their own could easily add boarding school, camping trips, detention, proper punishments for doing such at such while at school, odd jobs to earn money like a paper or post round, science fairs, better projects, show and tells involving pets or parents, life skill building toys (mini oven or kitchen sets for kids), maybe even the ability to run a lemonade stand again! But with the added extras of making or breaking a rival stand (neighbour kid sets up their own, you can mess it up).

    Teens are sort of the mid way point of children and adults, this could be a chance for them to interact with a lot of things as they are their own middle ground of age, helping siblings bake, baby sitting being an active thing while the parents are away or as an active career that isn’t just a rabbit hole, the ability to refuse to go to school and hide in bed, or fake going to school and actually being under something, hiding in the treehouse, something funny like that to lesson the seriousness of growing up.
    Maybe teens could have baby raising projects using bags of flower or strange looking baby robots that malfunction now and again, apprenticeships that can make or break grades and access to certain collages, throwing house parties that can trash the place and land them in epic trouble with their parents and the law, binging movies on a sick day off school, actually being sick one starters!

    There is so much EA could add to better education in the game as a whole and I think University could be the starting point.

    Agree to disagree, but let’s keep this thread friendly and open.

    Comment your ideas and feedback, have a nice day and I’ll see you later!

    Dag dag


    1. Toddlers already have day care. However, it is a rabbithole. I would like to see a Preschool new venue type. Requirements might be something like the activity table, and various toddler objects (high chair, potty training seat for example). A nap blanket would also be useful (works like toddler bed but on the floor and is only usable for napping - kind of like the sofa).
    2. The school projects are already kind of like science fair. More school projects would be helpful though.
    3. Boarding school might be an interesting option. However, not sure how this might be implemented.
    4. Show and tell might be a good random school event that leaves a moodlet.
    5. We really need grade school, middle school, high school as new venue types.
    6. We need functional ladders (the type that take up 1-2 tiles on the first floor, and 1-2 tiles on the second floor) to implement a treehouse properly.
    7. Lemonade stands: These already exist in Seasons, but are not run by teens. I wouldn't mind seeing a lemonade stand teen career. Or, a bar-like object that could be staffed by teens as well as adults, only sells just summer drinks.
    8. House parties - this would be a great new Seasons calendar event! Either for college age or teens.
  • For inspiration, mod community created this pack: https://zerbu.tumblr.com/post/160319209200/the-sims-4-go-to-school-mod-pack-v4

    Also going to be interesting to see how the pack will compare with this mod:
    http://modthesims.info/d/623480/get-to-college-mod-v3.html