Kids are so Boring

I would like more things for kids to do together with other kids. There are options with objects like the soccer ball, dollhouse, etc. But more options like tag and other games where the kids play together without a toy.

i fully diagree as i see nothing wrong with how it is in the sims4 as a player

Do TS4 kids share secrets with each other? Do they play dress up with each other? I don't recall. Do they play hooky from school? I think there is a phone call adult Sims make to kids in TS4 about that. Do they sneak out past curfew? Or get brought home by the police? Teens and kids in the other games. No curfew in TS4, which I like that, however, it was also just weird to send my toddler all over the block and the parent not even go searching for them in City Living. Remember Bella and Mortimer would come get Casandra. So would townie adults or teens of any 'homeless' kid out too late at your Sim's house.

I know Maxis must think or believe kids don't play tag or other kid games anymore, maybe they don't but maybe the parents in TS4 should demand they get off the pc and phones and get outside and do something together. Like build forts? Play with trash can lids and sticks for swords. Build a tree house, or a club house, it doesn't have to be beautiful if it's built out of cardboard or old boards. I think it would be great if Maxis would take a look at the 1930's Little Rascals shows and get some better ideas.

"LiELF;c-18079273" wrote:
It's a Sims 4 design flaw, I think, that Sims of any age really lack a variety of autonomous interactions and animations between them and that's what makes the game constantly feel like it needs more. The majority of interactions in the game involve objects and the autonomy is repetitious and samey with all Sims who have a tendency to be drawn to the same objects or have all the same idles. They are consistently drawn away from each other in favor of objects like the computer and when they are drawn to each other it's just the same idle chatting they do day after day and it never seems to change.

So frustrating.

This is so accurate. Over the years these are the kinds of things I expected them to work on vs something like story progression. I just personally don't see how story progression added much depth  compared to stuff like this.
I really long to see more sim on sim interactions, animation variety and sims who I don't have to kick off of my PC.
It's the little details that are more meaningful than the big flashy stuff. And if you look at why people love ts2 so much it's because of all the little seemingly meaningless details.
I Don't know if ts4 is just not capable or they don't prioritize it. I just like ts4 so much that I hate to see the potential of it not be utilized.

This video on reddit showed a lot of what is missing and it's literally nothing fancy or flashy.

https://www.reddit.com/r/thesims/comments/s9r6uc/this_is_the_most_beautiful_and_nostalgic_thing/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

"Cinebar;c-18083464" wrote:
Do TS4 kids share secrets with each other? Do they play dress up with each other? I don't recall. Do they play hooky from school? I think there is a phone call adult Sims make to kids in TS4 about that. Do they sneak out past curfew? Or get brought home by the police? Teens and kids in the other games. No curfew in TS4, which I like that, however, it was also just weird to send my toddler all over the block and the parent not even go searching for them in City Living. Remember Bella and Mortimer would come get Casandra. So would townie adults or teens of any 'homeless' kid out too late at your Sim's house.

I know Maxis must think or believe kids don't play tag or other kid games anymore, maybe they don't but maybe the parents in TS4 should demand they get off the pc and phones and get outside and do something together. Like build forts? Play with trash can lids and sticks for swords. Build a tree house, or a club house, it doesn't have to be beautiful if it's built out of cardboard or old boards. I think it would be great if Maxis would take a look at the 1930's Little Rascals shows and get some better ideas.

I wondered myself if this was part of the problem also. Because the Sims is going for realism I feel like the ts4 kids do reflect modern kids.
My little nieces and nephews literally just want to stay glued to an electronic device and they don't have the creativity and interactions we use to have when I was that age. Me and my mom literally have to pull the kids out of the house to run around and play human to human interactive games with us like water balloon fights and old momma witch and that's sad. And one of my nieces says all she wants in life in her tablet and to be a youtuber ??

Ts4 is very accurate in that manner ?
But even if that's the case I think the Sims should not try to copy modern kids and exact realism because it's a video game. And a kid sitting on the PC or tablet for 5 hours in a game is simply boring. Seeing them run around and act like classic children is so much more heartwarming and fun too.

Definitely would love for kids to build all kinda cardboard stuff. I swear I use to LIVE in a cardboard box and it was amazing ???

"Babykittyjade;c-18083487" wrote:

"Cinebar;c-18083464" wrote:
Do TS4 kids share secrets with each other? Do they play dress up with each other? I don't recall. Do they play hooky from school? I think there is a phone call adult Sims make to kids in TS4 about that. Do they sneak out past curfew? Or get brought home by the police? Teens and kids in the other games. No curfew in TS4, which I like that, however, it was also just weird to send my toddler all over the block and the parent not even go searching for them in City Living. Remember Bella and Mortimer would come get Casandra. So would townie adults or teens of any 'homeless' kid out too late at your Sim's house.

I know Maxis must think or believe kids don't play tag or other kid games anymore, maybe they don't but maybe the parents in TS4 should demand they get off the pc and phones and get outside and do something together. Like build forts? Play with trash can lids and sticks for swords. Build a tree house, or a club house, it doesn't have to be beautiful if it's built out of cardboard or old boards. I think it would be great if Maxis would take a look at the 1930's Little Rascals shows and get some better ideas.

I wondered myself if this was part of the problem also. Because the Sims is going for realism I feel like the ts4 kids do reflect modern kids.
My little nieces and nephews literally just want to stay glued to an electronic device and they don't have the creativity and interactions we use to have when I was that age. Me and my mom literally have to pull the kids out of the house to run around and play human to human interactive games with us like water balloon fights and old momma witch and that's sad. And one of my nieces says all she wants in life in her tablet and to be a youtuber ??

Ts4 is very accurate in that manner ?
But even if that's the case I think the Sims should not try to copy modern kids and exact realism because it's a video game. And a kid sitting on the PC or tablet for 5 hours in a game is simply boring. Seeing them run around and act like classic children is so much more heartwarming and fun too.

Definitely would love for kids to build all kinda cardboard stuff. I swear I use to LIVE in a cardboard box and it was amazing ???

Exactly! Modern technology may be the current trend and relatable, but it doesn't make for interesting gameplay, and that's the problem with only catering to the current era.

Another thing to consider is that just because times and technology move forward doesn't mean past generations of people just disappear. In its own way it's a little bit ageist to only build the game around one single generation, especially when so many loyal players have supported the game since earlier iterations. The past existed and people retain those memories and experiences. New does not erase old, it only picks up where it left off.

Maybe we need a new kind of Generations pack that isn't just about family lineage, but also about the details of living in past generations as well. The newspaper boy, the milkman, doorbells, landline phones, outdoor activities for children to play with each other, teenage garage bands and hooplas and sneaking out to be with friends, old fashioned lawn mowers, car building, sewing your own garments, cassette boom box, local carnival with group activities, concerts, hangouts, romance and the search for compatibility... and many more things that Sims do with each other.

I think I'd really like a pack like that.

"InuMiroLover;c-18077933" wrote:
Id really love it if occult kids could actually do occult things. I was so annoyed when RoM came out and the only thing spellcaster kids could do was summon their familiar. (And dont get me started with their animation in CAS or I will rage forever) Im not saying that occult kids should have full access to their powers, but they're not normal kids! Let spellcaster kids learn a basic spell or have their parents teach them magic! Let vampire kids drink plasma packs or get uncomfortable when they're out on a sunny day! I'd honestly play occult families more often if occult kids were actually interesting to play. I dont want them acting like human kids all the time.

Fully agreed. Just recently thought how annoying it is how these two vampire toddlers always take the negative relationship hit with their 2 vampire parents because the parents have a hissing problem. The game doesn't really even consider the kids as vampires so they act like humans thorough. Boring and disappointing. I really like your ideas of what occult kids could do.

"LiELF;c-18079273" wrote:
It's a Sims 4 design flaw, I think, that Sims of any age really lack a variety of autonomous interactions and animations between them and that's what makes the game constantly feel like it needs more. The majority of interactions in the game involve objects and the autonomy is repetitious and samey with all Sims who have a tendency to be drawn to the same objects or have all the same idles. They are consistently drawn away from each other in favor of objects like the computer and when they are drawn to each other it's just the same idle chatting they do day after day and it never seems to change.

So frustrating.

Yes I very much agree with this. I really would just like there to be more human-to-human games and interaction for kids and all life stages really. Like where the heck is stuff like playing tag with your fellow kids? (Or childish adults. Ah, I loved my TS3 Emperor of Evil 5 star celeb vampire who liked to autonomously start games of tag with any random kids he said hello to lol.) It's like the kids can't do anything playful together unless they buy a specific item or use those playground objects in parks. Like, me and my sister did ALL kinds of stuff without even needing any fancy items. Tag, hide and seek, climbing trees (or any object really), making wreaths and...
I don't know what I should call them in english but these cute things,
https://i.imgur.com/BN9f5Sl.jpg
or just using our imagination and roleplaying. Like having sword fights with sticks or "spying" our parents and others (purpose was to follow them without being seen, though I bet they all knew we were there and just pretended not to lol).
It's like in TS4 they always need some fancy item to do anything and have even less options when it comes to any group activity. Most of the time they just seem like they want to be left alone glued to their computers. And like, look, as a geek I get that but man does it make for boring gameplay.

"Thrior;c-18087704" wrote:

"InuMiroLover;c-18077933" wrote:
Id really love it if occult kids could actually do occult things. I was so annoyed when RoM came out and the only thing spellcaster kids could do was summon their familiar. (And dont get me started with their animation in CAS or I will rage forever) Im not saying that occult kids should have full access to their powers, but they're not normal kids! Let spellcaster kids learn a basic spell or have their parents teach them magic! Let vampire kids drink plasma packs or get uncomfortable when they're out on a sunny day! I'd honestly play occult families more often if occult kids were actually interesting to play. I dont want them acting like human kids all the time.

Fully agreed. Just recently thought how annoying it is how these two vampire toddlers always take the negative relationship hit with their 2 vampire parents because the parents have a hissing problem. The game doesn't really even consider the kids as vampires so they act like humans thorough. Boring and disappointing. I really like your ideas of what occult kids could do.

"LiELF;c-18079273" wrote:
It's a Sims 4 design flaw, I think, that Sims of any age really lack a variety of autonomous interactions and animations between them and that's what makes the game constantly feel like it needs more. The majority of interactions in the game involve objects and the autonomy is repetitious and samey with all Sims who have a tendency to be drawn to the same objects or have all the same idles. They are consistently drawn away from each other in favor of objects like the computer and when they are drawn to each other it's just the same idle chatting they do day after day and it never seems to change.

So frustrating.

Yes I very much agree with this. I really would just like there to be more human-to-human games and interaction for kids and all life stages really. Like where the heck is stuff like playing tag with your fellow kids? (Or childish adults. Ah, I loved my TS3 Emperor of Evil 5 star celeb vampire who liked to autonomously start games of tag with any random kids he said hello to lol.) It's like the kids can't do anything playful together unless they buy a specific item or use those playground objects in parks. Like, me and my sister did ALL kinds of stuff without even needing any fancy items. Tag, hide and seek, climbing trees (or any object really), making wreaths and...
I don't know what I should call them in english but these cute things,
https://i.imgur.com/BN9f5Sl.jpg
or just using our imagination and roleplaying. Like having sword fights with sticks or "spying" our parents and others (purpose was to follow them without being seen, though I bet they all knew we were there and just pretended not to lol).
It's like in TS4 they always need some fancy item to do anything and have even less options when it comes to any group activity. Most of the time they just seem like they want to be left alone glued to their computers. And like, look, as a geek I get that but man does it make for boring gameplay.

Oh my I love pine cones but never thought to make this!!! This is so cute ?

"Babykittyjade;c-18087740" wrote:

"Thrior;c-18087704" wrote:

"InuMiroLover;c-18077933" wrote:
Id really love it if occult kids could actually do occult things. I was so annoyed when RoM came out and the only thing spellcaster kids could do was summon their familiar. (And dont get me started with their animation in CAS or I will rage forever) Im not saying that occult kids should have full access to their powers, but they're not normal kids! Let spellcaster kids learn a basic spell or have their parents teach them magic! Let vampire kids drink plasma packs or get uncomfortable when they're out on a sunny day! I'd honestly play occult families more often if occult kids were actually interesting to play. I dont want them acting like human kids all the time.

Fully agreed. Just recently thought how annoying it is how these two vampire toddlers always take the negative relationship hit with their 2 vampire parents because the parents have a hissing problem. The game doesn't really even consider the kids as vampires so they act like humans thorough. Boring and disappointing. I really like your ideas of what occult kids could do.

"LiELF;c-18079273" wrote:
It's a Sims 4 design flaw, I think, that Sims of any age really lack a variety of autonomous interactions and animations between them and that's what makes the game constantly feel like it needs more. The majority of interactions in the game involve objects and the autonomy is repetitious and samey with all Sims who have a tendency to be drawn to the same objects or have all the same idles. They are consistently drawn away from each other in favor of objects like the computer and when they are drawn to each other it's just the same idle chatting they do day after day and it never seems to change.

So frustrating.

Yes I very much agree with this. I really would just like there to be more human-to-human games and interaction for kids and all life stages really. Like where the heck is stuff like playing tag with your fellow kids? (Or childish adults. Ah, I loved my TS3 Emperor of Evil 5 star celeb vampire who liked to autonomously start games of tag with any random kids he said hello to lol.) It's like the kids can't do anything playful together unless they buy a specific item or use those playground objects in parks. Like, me and my sister did ALL kinds of stuff without even needing any fancy items. Tag, hide and seek, climbing trees (or any object really), making wreaths and...
I don't know what I should call them in english but these cute things,
https://i.imgur.com/BN9f5Sl.jpg
or just using our imagination and roleplaying. Like having sword fights with sticks or "spying" our parents and others (purpose was to follow them without being seen, though I bet they all knew we were there and just pretended not to lol).
It's like in TS4 they always need some fancy item to do anything and have even less options when it comes to any group activity. Most of the time they just seem like they want to be left alone glued to their computers. And like, look, as a geek I get that but man does it make for boring gameplay.

Oh my I love pine cones but never thought to make this!!! This is so cute ?

We in Finland traditionally call them "käpylehmä" which directly translates to "pine cone cow / cone cow" though that doesn't mean they are literally meant to be cows. Could have been a pine cone sheep or hedgehog if that strikes you fancy :joy:. There is this stereotypical view of them being related to "poor families which couldn't buy 'real' toys" but in the case of me and my sister, we just really liked to play outside and do all kinds of nature related stuff.

Fully agree with what nearly all of you have said, including about TS2 having a lot more sim to sim activities, including those not needing objects to activate. TS1 had the little boats you could sail on ponds.

There are some activities that for children should start with an adult/teen teaching the child, knitting, cross-stitch, and work bench come to mind.

Those pinecone animals are great! Thank you for sharing.