I've been saying I would never buy it. I think parenting in the game is just fine the way it is, and the description makes me cringe at all the micromanaging and the depiction of kids as tabula rasa, putty in parental hands, and parents as permanently shaping them for better or worse in ways that are way out of line with reality as genetics is proving to have far more impact than was ever believed in the era of "blame everything on the parents." Sure, how you raise a kid matters, like you can screw them up by being horrible to them. But if you're not horrible, if you love them and attend their needs...you don't have to BREATHE for them! Or do their homework or "play" with them or any of that, and how honest and hardworking and reliable and cheerful they turn out to be? That's not in your hands anyway. In other words, as a parent you can mar a kid, but you can't turn a terrier into a mastiff or vice versa. You can only have a happy, well-adjusted, or a cringing, snapping, terrier or mastiff.And contrary to popular myth, kids do NOT need parents to pretend to be other kids, and "play" with them. They have other kids for that, and other kids do it better anyway. Unless a parent has the childish trait, I hope that can be safely skipped because I consider it a big load of BS that has made parenting unnecessarily difficult for an entire generation. They need parents to be good adults, don't need them to be good playmates.So I'm dreading getting this pack.What if I hate it? What if it turns family life into an unendurable grind in my game!?Can I remove it if I hate it?!I really REALLY do not want to spend my time jumping through needless hoops overparenting, even if I remotely believed in it, which I don't.So can anyone tell me it's not like that? What's it really like, because the trailer has me going NOPE NOPE NOPE!

I like it a lot but I consider myself a family player. It is a bit chory at times but you can avoid it for the most part.

It's one of my favourites. The phases are the only thing I dislike.

It is completely possible to have a parent hardly interact with the kid and the kid still max Responsibility. Manners goes up easily too. Empathy and Conflict Resolution are the ones you generally have to work at.The intrusive/play changing elements (from my experience)- Phases For the most part the phases don't interfere too much, but you'll end up with kids getting leftovers and feeling sad (because they're picky eaters) or empathy and relationships dropping because they're in a mean streak, or a kid wearing a bear costume any time they can for a week.- Mood Swings - They can make a teen too sad/embarrassed/angry to do their homework, but on the plus teens don't die from emotions.- "Teachable moments" where your parent is either asked for advice or gets a call from school where you have to choose between 1-3 responses that will impact their character values. Some of them are logical, some are kinda nonsensical.- Kids and toddlers making a mess (at least I think that's attached to Parenthood) if they're in particularly playful or creative moods, toddlers and teens can make a paint mess (I think mean streak can do it too) which the parents can choose to dicipline or not.You can have the parent discipline the kids and talk through phases too, which also impacts their traits.If none of the traits end up in either the red or the green (and you have to seriously work to have them grow up with a trait in the red) by the time they age up to young adults, they have no impact.

I don't really understand why you want to be convinced to buy it if you seem so against the concept. It's okay to not have all of the packs or not like some of them.I don't own Parenthood either, and I probably won't ever. I'm okay with that. I like kids the way they are, I like their independence. I also can't stand the way they are designed in the pack to constantly make messes by dumping containers of flower or paint all over the place just so the player can discipline them. Those messes make me cringe hard. Have you ever watched a let's play video with that going on? It's horrible.In the end, only you can really decide if a pack is going to suit your play style or not. Many people love the pack, yes, but that doesn't mean everyone will. There are also reviews on YouTube that can help get some insight. LGR is always fun to watch, as is Carl, but I don't know if he has one out.

"LiELF;c-17493763" wrote:I don't really understand why you want to be convinced to buy it if you seem so against the concept. It's okay to not have all of the packs or not like some of them.I don't own Parenthood either, and I probably won't ever. I'm okay with that. I like kids the way they are, I like their independence. I also can't stand the way they are designed in the pack to constantly make messes by dumping containers of flower or paint all over the place just so the player can discipline them. Those messes make me cringe hard. Have you ever watched a let's play video with that going on? It's horrible.I confess, I modded that out via MCCC, because... yeah. Probably the most intrusive aspect, and often completely out of left field for the character of the kid (toddlers at least makes some sense.)

Parenthood is the last EP I don't have. Should I?

27 Replies

SimAlexandria
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago
"Scobre;c-17494548" wrote:
"Nushnushganay;c-17494467" wrote:
@Scobre So I've watched the videos posted here (and grateful for them!) and it has me both more interested, and more not. Interested because it's one way to get more humor and grossness into an otherwise way-too-bland game (burps, farts, even sharts!? I'd enjoy that) but certain things like kids having to go through a Furry phase? Way out there and super annoying.

So you've really got my attention with what you're saying, that the features are there, but you don't have to use them? So if I don't want to be an intensive super-parent, I can just play like I otherwise would and things will be fine?

Also, what's the deal with curfew? Does there HAVE to be one? Do parents get to choose the time or is it set by the game?

And if I do not make my kids/teens go to school, using a mod to make it optional, I sure hope this pack wouldn't shove school down our throats as a necessity. I mean kids who don't go to school can still study, "do homework" so is that enough?

Yeah I ignore the furry phase. XD The emo phase is fun just because Sims want to dress in black. Yeah you don't have to use the features. There doesn't have to be a curfew, it is optional too. You have 3 times to pick from with the curfew set by the game. The school isn't that much different from the base game. They just have these special assignments they bring home from school which your kids can do but they don't have to. There are also two versions of the projects, so rushing it makes lower quality objects.

The burps, farting, and cussing are super fun.

There's actually 3 versions of the projects :) A Poor, Good, and Excellent quality when they are done them.

OP, They don't have to be done, but you get bonus credit in school for doing them. (THey don't lower performance if you don't) They also build a skill. I like them because they are one of the few things that can be done as a group... up to 5 sims can work on them together age child and up.
They receive them every Monday at school, but you can buy them more often from build mode. And you have the choice to work carefully or sloppily. The more sims work on them at a time the faster they get completed.

Curfews I never use, but I do like grounding my kids when they misbehave.

Honestly I love the pack as a family player but each play style is different. And you don't HAVE to be more involved really.
gamertherapy
6 years ago
thanks everyone! Now that I know there's a mod to disable it if I don't want to keep it, and that it doesn't take over the game like I had feared. I think I will take the plunge. It's worth it, to have farts and belches and cussing in my game! :D
gamertherapy
6 years ago
"calaprfy;c-17494870" wrote:
One challenge is to not control the child sim at all and have the parent sim boss them about!

One tip - don't have too many children or the advice chance cards will do your head in!

Whoo boy. When I go in for family play, I like to go large. Warning noted! : :#
DaWaterRat
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago
"calaprfy;c-17494870" wrote:
One challenge is to not control the child sim at all and have the parent sim boss them about!

One tip - don't have too many children or the advice chance cards will do your head in!

Can Verify. Right now I've got one lonely adult spellcaster trying to shepherd five teenagers through both High School and learning magic, and even with them being teenagers he still can barely get his freelance writing done between all of them asking for advice.
gamertherapy
6 years ago
spacing the kids out so there arent' 5 in one age group at once will be necessary, then. Or hiring a butler and a nanny!
wexxam
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago
If you don't like family gameplay then don't get it.
nikkiheathcote95
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago
If you want your sims too raise children then yes, it quite a solid pack, it adds sibling rivalry, teenage moods, set curfews, it definitely adds alot to toddlers & children of how they are raised and makes teens more tolerable, it all boils down too if your interested in playing families or not, if you dont then this would be a waste of money

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Parenthood is the last EP I don't have. Should I?

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