I gather the Parenthood pack is fairly popular (at least, a recent Sims Community poll ranked it as the best game pack). Now, I am a big fan of "coming of age" stories. In fact, supernatural or sci fi coming of age stories are my personal guilty pleasure (which is probably why my own SimLit story is one). I'm wondering how well Parenthood fits with growing up and these "coming of age" stories.At the same time, I must confess I have avoided the Parenthood pack almost from the moment I heard of it. As a parent, I know that every parent has their own ideas of what "good parenting" is. While I do not want to hold that real life debate here, I know that the game - being a game - has to have its own answer to that. The very nature of the pack seems to require parenting interactions that lead to "good" or "bad" outcomes. I worry about how I'm going to feel about that. (Full disclosure, I can't finish the aspiration from the Cats and Dogs expansion because I don't like that "cat jumping on the counter" is considered a "bad" behavior that should be disciplined. :) ) So, I guess my question comes down to two parts - Would Parenthood add dimensions to my "coming of age" stories? Is the Sims definition of "good parenting" ingrained into the pack such that, if I disagree with it, I'm going to have a problem enjoying the pack?

Bookmarking this thread.. as I don't have parenthood either, been avoiding it too, tho for slightly different reason.Just recently starting to get enough of the pantless sims (that pack must have the best gym - outfits ever) in gyms. When ever I download a sim, it usually has gym pants at least from parenthood :smile: Had topless sims sometimes too, because of that.Just curious, if there is tiny tiny chance I might some day have it.

There are some annoying pop-ups that come with the pack that are a bit forced and that affect the Parenthood character values. You can't opt out of them and have to choose a response that raises one trait/value and lowers another. For me, that's the worst part. They're not that bad, though, and as a whole the pack feels much less invasive to me than Sims 3 Generations. It generally lets you choose how to discipline or not your Sims' children as you like. I'm not sure that Parenthood would add anything significant for storytelling.

The point of doing parenting interactions is so that when your sim ages up to YA, they'll get "character traits." Yes, there are "positive" and "negative" character traits, but there's actually no "good" or "bad" judgement of your parenting based on the traits your child sim gets. You can purposely try for negative traits if you want. It can be great for storytelling, actually. For example, if I have a Mean child sim, I can actively try to parent that kid so that they age up with the Insensitive or Argumentative trait. And of course, the kid can do interactions on their own that influence their character traits; the parent doesn't even need to be involved. As for aspirations, the Super Parent aspiration does require you to have one child age up to YA with 3 positive character traits. But it's really not hard to achieve at least with one kid. Your other kids can be as awful as you want. ;)

I agree with haneul, the pop-ups do make me cringe as a RL parent sometimes. Many times I don't like either option and I don't agree with what character values are increasing and decreasing as a result of my choice. However, I do still enjoy the pack and find value in it. The pack does leave room for you to discipline or not as you see fit and the time-outs, schedule board and school projects add a nice touch to having sim families.

I'm doing the 100 Baby Challenge, so I've had a LOT of kids. I don't even really read the chance cards anymore because the scenario doesn't actually matter. I just choose the option that raises or lowers a character value for a trait that I want the kid to have. (My parent maxed out the parenting skill a long time ago, so I can see the full outcome of every choice.) Yeah, I told my kid they can eat dirt, so what? lol

Parenthood - Should I get it? | EA Forums

Ellupelluellu
Hero
10 months ago
Bookmarking this thread.. as I don't have parenthood either, been avoiding it too, tho for slightly different reason.

Just recently starting to get enough of the pantless sims (that pack must have the best gym - outfits ever) in gyms. When ever I download a sim, it usually has gym pants at least from parenthood :smile:

Had topless sims sometimes too, because of that.

Just curious, if there is tiny tiny chance I might some day have it.
Haneul33
Seasoned Adventurer
10 months ago
There are some annoying pop-ups that come with the pack that are a bit forced and that affect the Parenthood character values. You can't opt out of them and have to choose a response that raises one trait/value and lowers another. For me, that's the worst part. They're not that bad, though, and as a whole the pack feels much less invasive to me than Sims 3 Generations. It generally lets you choose how to discipline or not your Sims' children as you like.

I'm not sure that Parenthood would add anything significant for storytelling.
PandoraTO
Seasoned Vanguard
10 months ago
The point of doing parenting interactions is so that when your sim ages up to YA, they'll get "character traits." Yes, there are "positive" and "negative" character traits, but there's actually no "good" or "bad" judgement of your parenting based on the traits your child sim gets. You can purposely try for negative traits if you want. It can be great for storytelling, actually. For example, if I have a Mean child sim, I can actively try to parent that kid so that they age up with the Insensitive or Argumentative trait. And of course, the kid can do interactions on their own that influence their character traits; the parent doesn't even need to be involved.

As for aspirations, the Super Parent aspiration does require you to have one child age up to YA with 3 positive character traits. But it's really not hard to achieve at least with one kid. Your other kids can be as awful as you want. ;)
blue_eyes4u02
Seasoned Rookie
10 months ago
I agree with haneul, the pop-ups do make me cringe as a RL parent sometimes. Many times I don't like either option and I don't agree with what character values are increasing and decreasing as a result of my choice. However, I do still enjoy the pack and find value in it. The pack does leave room for you to discipline or not as you see fit and the time-outs, schedule board and school projects add a nice touch to having sim families.
PandoraTO
Seasoned Vanguard
10 months ago
I'm doing the 100 Baby Challenge, so I've had a LOT of kids. I don't even really read the chance cards anymore because the scenario doesn't actually matter. I just choose the option that raises or lowers a character value for a trait that I want the kid to have. (My parent maxed out the parenting skill a long time ago, so I can see the full outcome of every choice.) Yeah, I told my kid they can eat dirt, so what? lol
atreya33
Seasoned Ace
10 months ago
If you like coming of age stories then you might like your children/teens getting special traits from character values. You can choose if you want to go for positive or negative ones. While this is a pack about parenting, it doesn't feel like parenting equals disciplining younger sims. Sims can raise some character values by activities like set the table, doing homework ir playing with the doctor set. I think getting all the character values is quite hard but it is optional. If you don't want to, then just ignore it and you sims won't gain the special traits. The only downside is that there is no off option or cancel button for the pop ups. Other than that no complaints.
Anmirla
Seasoned Adventurer
10 months ago
"PandoraTO;c-18350137" wrote:
I don't even really read the chance cards anymore because the scenario doesn't actually matter. I just choose the option that raises or lowers a character value for a trait that I want the kid to have. (My parent maxed out the parenting skill a long time ago, so I can see the full outcome of every choice.) Yeah, I told my kid they can eat dirt, so what? lol

This is me. As long as the skill is high enough, it will tell you which values it affects. I go for what they need or what isn't as easy to raise or if a value is lowered, I know what will be easier for me to raise it again quicker. Some are easier because I am already having them do things that effect a certain value and using the chance cards allows me give little boosts to values that I need to do something extra for. Doing some of the tasks for Scouting and the tasks for child aspirations will also cross over to help build values.
simsimsere
Rising Scout
10 months ago
I used to like Parenthood a lot for the added character traits, but I admit I've grown a little bit bored with the pop ups. My main gripe with the pack is that it's geared towards positive character values and getting the negative traits can be very grindy. With all that said I still feel the character traits are worth the trouble! They help with shaping up my sims. Some of the traits are quite powerful, others less noticeable. Responsible/irresponsible is one that has a huge impact. Good mannered/bad mannered is also useful.
JesLet40
Seasoned Ace
10 months ago
I can't add all that much to the discussion about the character traits and pop ups, but for me the main part of this pack is the parenting skill and the interactions that come with it. That you can influence (or force) your child to do certain interactions (like take a shower, go to bed, or play), and that you can teach your child things like saying thank you or sorry. I like these interactions because they add more variety to the game.
DaWaterRat
New Vanguard
10 months ago
I like the Parenthood pack. I like the assets it adds, I like the interactions, I more or less like the character values - and your average sim is only going to grow up with one or two positive ones on Normal Lifespan unless you really try (most likely Manners and/or Responsibility) so it can be ... while not exactly ignored, thanks to the pop-ups, if it doesn't suit a sims development, there are easy ways to minimize the impact.

And even with the pop-ups, after a while you'll start to remember which interaction affects which character traits, so even if your parent sim hasn't maxed out parenting, you can still direct some options. I just wish that Empathy was a bit easier to build up.

Parenthood also introduced School Projects, which I've used to help build a sim's childhood (and before HSY, teen) friendships (3 or 4 sims can work on a project together) Just be sure you have a lot of space for it, as they take up 6 tiles until they're complete.