Is the sims appropriate for kids?

Minisprite and I started playing together when she was 12, two years ago. It was always something we did together though and it prompted a lot of good conversations about adult issues. I would not have suggested it to her to play alone, and wouldn't have played it with her either before age 10 or so. Now she plays alone sometimes, but usually when she does she's just building. (Or at least that's what she tells me.)