I play long/14 day. I feel that gives each stage enough time to experience all seasons.
I have always pushed my Sims for achievement (even as far back as the original iteration). I max skill Toddler (then rack up as many points from whims as I can) and Child stages to prepare them for adulthood. This also gives me the chance to actually play, not just slave-drive them as I tended to do in the past.
It took adding Toddlers and Seasons to the game to get me to play with families. I didn't want to touch them before that - they were so lacking.
