Infants are a welcome addition to the world of The Sims 4. They are little bundles of personality, bringing joy, exhaustion, and laughter everywhere they go. In a game that’s constantly evolving, infants bring a whole new level of realism to the world of your sims.
Still, they can be a bit of a handful sometimes — for you and your Sims. Not since The Sims 1 has caring for a baby been so stressful. So, if you’re looking for tips to ease your Sim’s journey into parenthood, you’ve come to the right place.
10 Choose The Right Dynamic
With the Growing Together expansion pack, households gain relationship dynamics, which, predictably, impact the way their relationships shake out. While these dynamics are more relevant when sims are old enough to communicate, infants can still have different dynamics with their family members.
In Create-A-Sim, you can choose what kind of dynamic you’d like your parent sim to have with their infant — or, you can let it develop organically in gameplay and then confirm or deny it when the game prompts you to. Either way, these dynamics can and will impact your sims’ moods, so pick carefully.
9 Caretake In Shifts
While it’s nothing close to real life, an inevitable exhaustion comes with caring for young Sims, especially infants. The adult Sim in the equation can’t be blamed if they collapse onto the floor after spending every waking moment looking after their young charge. Sometimes, they just need a break.
If you have more than one teen or older Sim, you should rotate parenting duties between them. That way, the primary guardian Sim can get a few blissful moments of relaxation before jumping into the fray again. Plus, your infant Sim will benefit from the attention.
8 Hire A Nanny
When you don’t have another adult Sim around to bear some of the burdens of childcare, or if all your older Sims have burnt out and can’t pick up any extra slack, you can always hire a nanny to give your Sims a well-deserved, if too brief, break.
Of course, not every Sim household will be able to afford to just hire a nanny willy-nilly. Luckily, this is The Sims — money can be procured reasonably quickly, not just from cheats. Your parent Sim will thank you.
7 Develop Parenthood Skills
If you have the much-beloved Parenthood pack, your Sims will build their parenting skill as they care for their little bundle of joy. But you don’t have to have a kid around to develop that skill. If you plan on expanding your Sim’s family, whether by pregnancy, adoption or through the miracle of science, you should first have your Sim do a little research.
You don’t need to be a master parent from the jump, but having a little background won’t hurt. Besides, it will make the process, especially the teaching process, easier on your soon-to-be-exhausted Sim. It’s just a little head start on the rest of their lives.
6 Cheat… If You Have To
Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how diligent you are about keeping your household functioning — your Sim will be too exhausted to take care of their baby. Or, maybe you’ll be too frazzled to do it yourself, especially when dealing with a large household.
But this is The Sims, and there are ways around these things. This isn’t really a ‘tip’ as it is a public service announcement: there’s no shame in right-clicking on any of your Sims and selecting the “Make Happy” option. You’re doing them a favour.
5 Pick The Right Trait
The infants of The Sims 4 come with specific traits that you can select once they age into, well, infancy. And they can impact your entire household’s lives and happiness, so it’s a good idea to be a little picky about what trait you want to select.
If you want a challenge, use the “Intense” trait, making your little bundle of joy a firecracker of emotion. Or, if you want the path of least resistance, you can choose “Calm.” Of course, it’s ultimately up to you. Still, looking at every trait carefully before deciding is a good idea.
4 Pay Attention To Quirks
It’s not just traits you must consider concerning infants in The Sims 4 — it’s quirks, too. You don’t decide quirks and can’t influence them easily – they’re more like the Temperament system in the Werewolves pack; you can trigger them, but generally speaking, they just kind of happen.
As such, you’ll want to pay close attention to what quirks your infant develops, as they impact not only their happiness but their relationships with others and the world. Some infants, for example, love to be snuggled, while others will throw a tantrum when they’re held for even a fraction of a second.
3 Upgrade The Crib
This one is pretty easy and self-explanatory — upgrade your baby’s crib. You can add on a mobile device for your little tykes to stare at as they fall into a blissful, quiet sleep.
These mobiles also play lullabies, giving your infants some soft, comforting music to fall asleep to — and saving your adult Sim from having to sing themselves.
2 Remember What They Like
In addition to quirks, infants develop preferences for certain foods through guided exploration. There’s no way to tell what infant will like what kind of food, and no universal meal that every infant will take to without a second thought. You have to explore all your options and take notes about what they liked, what they tolerated, and what they hated.
Giving them foods they like will boost their moods, making them easier to handle for you and your adult Sim. Plus, it will help your infant’s developing skills — happier babies make for happier lessons.
1 Go Socialize
Even if your infant is shy or sensitive, a little social time outside the house is always a good call. The world is big and beautiful and fun to explore, and exposing your Sim’s infant to the wonders that wait just outside of their door can help them develop into confident, happy toddlers.
It’s not just exploration that’s important, though – your infant should meet other people of all ages. They should make friends (as much as babies can make friends, at least) with other kids their own age — people they can form lifelong friendships with.
