I usually don't let my sims pump out too many kids. . . a full household can be pretty hectic and then it comes down to what to even do with them once they're old enough to go on their own. one of my sims, Ezra, was abducted and impregnated right before aging to elder and cuz I'm such a softie I just couldn't send the baby back off to space. he's now a young adult but honestly I don't know what to even do with him. . . he's got three older siblings (including a surprise set of twins) that I've established fun & fulfilling lives for but him. . . I just dunno! I suppose it doesn't help I'm not super invested in him either and it'll be hard to play him especially when I don't have any "unique" ideas on what he'll do and stuff. he currently lives at home with his dad, brother, brother-in-law, and nephew but he doesn't work and mainly just gets sent around fixing up the house's broken sinks. I'd like to see/hear what everyone else does with their "spares," especially ones you have a hard time getting into.

The ones I'm less interested in, I move out and mark as unplayed. (I have my game set to age played sims only active household, and aging on for unplayed sims.) I use MCCC, so they just go about their sim lives. If I'm still interested in them, I move them out and play them separately. My game does get a bit strange and random with the generations and who I play the most; I just go with whatever household seems appealing at the time, and play different branches of the family.

I usually just move them into the neighborhood, but if I’m attached to them but they are spares I make sure they are set for the future. I prepare their skills so they can work and provide for themselves and marry them off and have kids and make sure their future spouse isn’t a stay at home either so I make sure they atleast have a job to bring money in.

I move them out into houses and let MCCC take care of them. The ones I really like but aren't going to be heir, I'll set up spouses for before moving them out.

I either leave them with their parents or play with more than one sibling.

I usually just move them out whenever I feel that they aren't essential to the main household. If I really like them then I'll occasionally play them just to check up on how they're doing but other than that I let them roam. My favorite part is looking at the family tree to see how many kids the spare ends up having and with who.

what do you do with family "spares?"

37 Replies

Dreamprisoner
Seasoned Ace
7 years ago
I play rotationally, so eventually I get 'round to all the children.

But when I'm unimpressed by a child, because they don't show much personality & I'm not invested, I usually end up deleting them. The most children I have is 4.
zisp
7 years ago
I move out all kids that aren't the heir/heiress. Most of the times I move them out when they're just a baby.
I like goal oriented gameplay and spares have no goal.
xijet
7 years ago
I always let my sims have multiple kids, almost always too many. Then, if I don't want some of them I just "put them up for adoption" by moving them out to another household. When the kids are all grown up I just chose the one I wanna keep playing and leave the others behind at their parents' house, lol.
Writin_Reg
7 years ago
It is really so cool seeing how everyone handles their families. I am enjoying reading everyones playstyle for sure.
Duhgirl2u2
7 years ago
For me it depends on the family and the spares. Sometimes they stick around and help with skill points (legacy style) sometimes I get them relationships and the beginnings of families then move the new little families into their own homes. I try to give them a good start, but in the end they usually just run around the world unless I am feeling particularly mean and 'cull' them so that future generations aren't marrying distant family members.

I'll admit that I've killed off a few of them for tombstones for the family graveyards too. Though, I typically send the spirits off into the netherworld so that the tombstones are just empty decoration with names on them.
aaronjc123
7 years ago
Even with sims that I'm not overly attached to, I make sure that they have a life set up - I don't let MCCC marry them off to completely random sims, especially considering how ridiculous most townies look. I will get them a partner, maybe give them kids, and then move them off into a house and let them live the rest of their sim days doing whatever. I like having extended families in the sims.
Winifred_Willow
Seasoned Veteran
7 years ago
I am a rotational player with multiple versions of saves. Before I started using mods, I would either keep the children I wanted in the house and moved out the spares -or- leave the spares with the parents and move the ones I wanted out and played their households, ignoring the parents and spares.
Now that I use MCCC (I honestly can't imagine playing without it now), I decide if I want the children I want to play to stay and take over the parents home and kick the spares out or move the children I want to play out and play them. I mark the households of the spares as unplayed and let MCCC take over and it has not disappointed me yet on it's pairings.

Forum Discussion

what do you do with family "spares?"

37 Replies

About The Sims 4 General Discussion

Community Highlights

[INFO] Make sure you meet the minimum requirements (PC/Mac)

Recent Discussions

Giveaway: Grange Mudroom and Essential Glam Kits (Winners Announced)

What happened in your game today, by ONE picture?

Fall 2025 Roadmap

What happened in your game today?

What happened to Stuff Packs (again)?