Set a household free to do what they want but not be culled

So, when I choose the ageing settings in the EA game settings where it says Age Unplayed Sims, it's talking about the dark green plumbob icons, not the hearts? This is even more confusing than I thought. What happens if its the ones with the hearts that I don't want culled or aged? Even MC Controller doesn't know which ones have the hearts? What is the point of the hearts then, just as a sort of filter so you can find them easily?