Toddlers... Most difficult thing ever!

Hmmm...

Again, I think you guys are still missing my point.

Yes, I want the parental care functions. But NOT at the expense of baby and tioddler sims not being their own people. The bottom line is I don't want to "leave a toddler alone to amuse themselves"... They're not a piece of furniture or chattel that I have to check up on periodically. They're not one of those practice units handed out in home economics. They're not an accessory to pander to my childhood mom-dad fantasies. No, babies and toddlers are sims in their own right. They are a member of my sim family that deserves worthwhile gameplay time. They should have working goals, fears, wishes, etc. I should WANT to interact with them. More importantly, I should have fun playing AS them. The whole " hassle" discussion would be moot were they implemented correctly. And as of now, they are not. Bear in mind I'm speaking solely of Sims 3. I don't play 4.

"Writin_Reg;c-16802400" wrote:

"aglitteringsimmer;c-16802083" wrote:
@Writin_Reg Yeah, I didn't mean to be so negative about them, they are definitely a good addition and I prefer them way more in the game than out. Just wondering what you meant by the toothless thing?

The poster above you mentioned the toothless part - sorry to be confusing here. LOL. Read the post above yours - about midway through that poster said "when i walk past a toddler sitting in a shopping cart and i give them a little wave and they wave their tiny chubby fingers back and grin a toothless grin. instant aww. "

I was just letting them know toddlers are not toothless - believe me they have a mouthful of teeth. If they were toothless they were still infants - not toddlers. Sorry for the confusion - as I was trying to answer two posts and just quoted your post apparently. I posted that like a few minutes before I shut off the pc and went to bed last night.

Ahh okay no problem! And yep you're right on the toothless part.

"LolaLuvsSims;c-16803648" wrote:
@rabidgummibear You are posting in the TS4 section of the forum. The toddlers are completely different from the ones in TS3.

Absolutely true... they are so different and have so much more personality!

Ah! Thanks! I just joined like literally 2 days ago. Sorry about the mixup.

Well that's good to know they have evolved. There might be some hope for the aforementioned free-roaming autonomy in Sims 5 then. Here's to dreaming.

"stilljustme2;c-16803909" wrote:

"CK213;c-16801230" wrote:
It's not the toddler, it's the chair. Get rid of it.
I just put the food on a table and let them get food for themselves.

That said, I do like the toddler stage being a handful, as it's a really needy stage and a first development stage.
There is also that relief when they age up. :D

If I have a Sim with the Fresh Chef trait, I'll leave food in the toddler's bedroom -- the food never spoils so they can grab it whenever they're hungry. I also work on baking skill so I can make things like breadsticks or cheesy bread they can use for snacks.

I do find that the traits do make a difference -- my Sim's oldest was Silly which is adorable; they do tend to make messes more often so you have to keep an eye on them and discipline them quickly. Currently I'm playing a Clingy toddler and she's a bit of a handful but it's so cute when her parents or even her older brother comfort her. Last time I played, she woke up with a nightmare and instead of waking up her parents she went and woke up her brother instead -- he was able to comfort her and she could go back to bed. Absolutely adorable -- I think they're going to stay close as they get older. :)

Aw, that's so cute with the older brother! I once had a toddler go wake her dad and then immediately age up once he got out of bed.

I do the same thing with food. Anytime there's a new toddler in a household, my Fresh Chef makes a visit and preps a whole bunch of food for them. I found that if you make a family sized portion, you can have the toddler put one serving at a time into their inventory. Then they'll help themselves whenever they're hungry and no Sims will steal their food.

I prefer the clingy toddlers when I'm actually trying to max their skills out. Pair it with a parent that has the Matriarch/Patriarch trait, they gain all their skills pretty quickly.

But I love how the Charmer toddlers can give other toddlers a hug. That's made for some sweet moments.

My preferred toddler traits are Silly (learn Imagination faster and I make a lot of Creative Sims), Independent (they don't need much looking after), Charmer and Angelic. Just starting to explore some of the more challenging toddler traits; not sure I'd do that with twins. :o

"Camilamjam;c-16790582" wrote:
This is so true, my sim had triplets and I just could not handle going through that nightmare x3. I ended up just blowing out the candles for all of them.

Haha yeah I don’t usually play with toddlers for too long. It’s a lot

I've been lucky - multiples don't happen for me much - with my sims so I really enjoy the one at a time toddlers and play them as long as I can when my sims finally get having a family. I drag out the lives a long time before my sims get a mate and settle down. I control aging in 4 because I can't play epic like I did in Sims 3. Loved Sims 3 epic aging. Even in that my toddlers usually had at least 50 -60 days at the least. I gave kids 75 days and teens well over a 100. Infants got about 30 days. The rest was maxed as high as they could go. I did not let my sims have babies until they reached turning adults or just before they turned. So what ever they had during the adult ages and only when they brought up the want for a baby did they try for one. Lol So I sort of do that as best I can with controlling aging in 4. But I like my sims around a long time.

Right now I have hardly any in my game. I am missing them though. But I started new saves between Cats and Dogs and Seasons with all single new YA's - one at a time in their own little starter with no skills - all new -so it is taking a while going from house to house building on each one. I was grooming 5 households though of newbies roomies for the fame game only to see I have no room to put them there - without destroying lots. So now I don't know what to do with them - as it messed up my careful plans as we always were able to move 5 households in most worlds and now I can't. I guess I will have to remove all five and start over. I just don't know. I am sort of angry about it while at the same time I so looked forward to the acting thing. But I suppose I can save them for college if we ever get one. Still miffed too much to think about right now.

Don't tell me - I know it's just a game and I am being silly about it. I guess that is just me being me.

Maybe I just need to go back to New Crest and start some newbies to find love and have families and forget the whole thing. Sometimes Sims 4 makes me crazy.

I agree that toddlers are the worst. One thing to consider is that (if you're not a die-hard for immersion) you can make ALL toddlers angelic or independent without it impacting them at all later, and makes them much easier to manage. You can also skip the phase entirely, but I understand that that REALLY breaks immersion. Cheating needs is another option.
I get that if you want to be fully immersed that toddlers just suck, though. I guess the sims got that realism right, but sometimes it feels like the game becomes about chores rather than fun. I hope your sim's toddler years end quickly or that you can at least learn to enjoy them.
:)

Toddlers are simultaneously the most frustrating but most fun thing about this game for me. I love trying to get their skills maxed before they age up, and they're so cute. I never use the high chairs though, they're far too buggy. I just make loads of food and store it in the fridge and drag it into the toddlers' playroom when they get hungry. They grab a serving and I drag the plate back to the fridge. Not very immersive but way less annoying than playing musical high chairs.