Ever since The Sims 4’s inception, the Simming community has been upset with the absence of toddlers in the life stages. Many were simply outraged at the fact a whole part of a Sim’s upbringing was missing, but do we really need it? Since I only began playing the Sims in the third generation, I can only base my experience and opinions on the past 2 generations.
I would like to refer to myself as an expert in creating legacy families. If anyone has ever watched me play the Sims, they would quickly say I have mastered the art of woohoo and baby making. In my 3 years of playing the game, I have learned how useless both the baby and toddler stages were to me. The whole point of the series is to “Play with life” which includes having children, growing into adulthood, and repeating the process with every new generation. Of course to start a new generation, you need to have a baby. As much as I didn’t like them, they were definitely necessary in the circle of life, so this stage can certainly not be avoided, unless you’re only starting families through adoption. Once the babies have outgrown their bassinets, the terrible two’s begin, and I mean terrible. In the Sims 3, my toddlers would constantly cry not just for their basic needs but for no reason at all. It was an exhausting experience for both me and my Sims.
Before the Generations expansion pack (EP), just like infants, toddlers were not able to add much to the gameplay. They had very few social interactions they could use before the EP release. Once the Generations EP was added into the mix, the toddlers were still very limited in what they could do at that life stage. Every other stage, including the equally forgotten elder stage, got a revamp of their social interactions. School suddenly became very interesting for both elementary and high school kids. Weddings had more excitement with bachelor/ette parties, and elders were able to reminisce about the good old days of it all. After the addition of other EP’s, like Seasons, the toddlers were able to only do slightly more but only in conjunction with an adult. One example of this allowed adults to play with toddlers in the ocean.
As a player who loves to get the most out of every stage in life, I feel as though the infants and toddlers always got the least amount of time during game development. The highlight of the toddler stage was the ability to teach them how to speak, how to walk, and how to use the potty. This milestone was the same for every toddler and did not vary no matter the change in personality traits. It didn’t add to what I saw the Sims could be, a place where no one story can match another. Later on I discovered toddlers had the same results with toys. I purchased the “Tiny Prodigies Early Learning” set from the Sims 3 store and quickly found out that all it did was speed up the highlights of being a toddler. The premium content, “Local Motion Toddler Walker” and “Head Start Playpen”, simply allowed the toddlers to learn to speak and walk on their own. 
It was very heartbreaking to come to terms with the fact my toddlers were virtually useless. My toddlers couldn’t play with one another unless in the “Head Start Playpen”. Even when they were able to talk to one another, toddlers couldn’t build relationships with each other. This took a huge toll on the stories many Simmers tried to create, since many sincerely wanted some Sims to be friends since early childhood. That idea also eliminated the possibility of sending them to preschool to learn the basics of a specific skill. (Toddlers could play with blocks or a xylophone to increase skills, but it was never made clear which skills they would attribute to and the amount of what they learned played a huge part in whether they received any credit at all towards their skill building as a child.)
In the end, I wasn’t able to raise my toddlers to be mischievous, friendly, or insane if I wanted to. It almost felt like I didn’t have any control over my babies or toddlers. This trend seemed to continue once the fourth generation of Sims was released. Infants were now placed in very basic bassinets and could not be removed from them. Of course this helped in the ceasing of babies being left on the floor in the Sims 3. Now that the infants are more attached to the crib, it’s almost as if they are being treated like objects the children and adults can use from time to time. It was a very nice touch to add breast feeding as an interaction, but almost all of the other options for a baby are repeated choices from the Sims 3. Seeing how in the Sims 4 infants already have limited mobility and gameplay options, it seems as if the studio agrees that a toddler stage is somewhat redundant. There aren’t many possible outcomes your infant or toddler could have once the stage is complete which only means the studio feels it is more reasonable to spend time on the stages Simmers play with the most, child-elder. Since this decision is permenant, I’m ok with not having toddlers. It was a stage of life that wasn’t going to offer much in gameplay and story telling. If toddlers were ever somehow able to join the game, I would like so much more from that stage. Comment below on what things you would’ve liked your toddler Sims to do.
I find that we do in fact need toddlers. I’ve played the sims for about 6 years, and one of my favorite life stages are toddlers because of how precious they are. I hate the fact that they’re not in the sims 4, and would be happier with it if they were added.
I play The Sims since day one and I have never been really interested in the Baby and Child stage in the first game. Nor did it change when toddlers ans teenagers came around. Since the Sims 3 teenager have a bigger gameplay value but that’s it. I never understood why other people loved the three stages till teenager. It was simply a thing that had to be done and I always was very happy when they became adults! I can understand,that all types of age stages should be part of a Life Simulation Game, but I agree with you,that babies and toddlers weren’t so much fun to play with.
While I respect and understand lots of people’s love for toddlers, but to me personally they were very annoying. Don’t get me wrong, but it’s just after I finish teaching them their toddlers skills I simply find nothing to do with them, and I DO mean nothing other than letting them play with their toddler toys, other than that nothing. So I won’t be affected deeply if the weren’t included, but it would be nice to have them with expanded options, choices, and gameplay value. Also I’d like them to be optional so those who don’t like them, or simply don’t want them could just skip them without getting annoyed.
In Sims 3 you could go ahead and skip the age. You could age them up. IF they did the same in Sims 4. A lot of people would be happy.
So If I said Children and Teens were useless. You be up in arms. I know that for fact.
Now all you done is open up a big can of worms. At the end of day your argument could be counter all day long. We find out if Sims 4 is biggest failure in the sims series next year. Just like Sim city closed so will The sims if they stay on this path. I know that The people that made Cities Skylines will be making a life game next year. If EA and Maxis don’t watch out they lose a lot of customers on this one.
There are family players out there. They love their toddlers. Sims 4 is pretty boring game. Sims 2 and Sims 3 are better games. I will not be buying cool kitchen or get together stuff. Till they fix this game and do it right. They not going to get my money for Sims 4 expansion packs and stuff packs.
Toddler state you can teach them logic and few other skills. It does help them in their Sims life. At the end of day it weird for them going from baby to a child.
Yes, we need toddlers because its called Play with Life. You can’t skip from babies to kids in real life so why do it in a game that’s supposed to represent life.
i have played sims since sims one and I can tell you I miss the toddlers very much I miss interacting with them being able to teach them to walk and talk and potty train them they should be able to go places with you and I think a pre kindergarten would be cool too
Omg pre Kindergarden would be an awesome idea…. 🙂
i have played sims since sims one and I can tell you I miss the toddlers very much I miss interacting with them being able to teach them to walk and talk and potty train them they should be able to go places with you and I think a pre kindergarten would be cool too
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/806993/the-toddler-expansion-pack-why-ea-needs-you-to-buy-it
We do need toddlers back. I want to be able to experience new options in sims 4 not only young adult based options like parties. I loved generations and i miss going through different life stages realistically. That part shouldn’t be left out in sims. I think family lifestyle was very important to many of us in sims
Would rather the developers focus on other big features to add to the game rather than spending it on an uninteresting (gameplay speaking) life stage like toddlers. Never cared about their exclusion, honestly. I prefer the focus on adults (like in the original Sims game) and teens to a lesser extent.
I am glad we don’t have toddlers. I enjoyed them in Sims 3 the first time I played it, but found them to be a hassle after a bit of time. I don’t have the time for them in Sims 4 because of all the other things i am trying to do.
I miss toddlers very much and each time they reveal a new expansion pack is coming I get my hopes up that finally toddlers are being added. For those that don’t want toddlers there is the option to just age them up but why should those of us that adore the toddler stage miss out because a few don’t like them. It’s just not right watching a baby morf into a ten year old.
I’ve been playing the sims since the sims 2 came out and I 100% agree with you toddlers are not necessary it’s always been teach them those 3 skills and your done back to being useless when it comes to me and playing if I ever decide to get my sims pregnant I just age the kid up till it’s a teenager and I’ll start playing with them then that’s when they can actually learn things teach them how to drive,they can go to prom, they can join clubs teenagers and young adults are my favorite stages specially when the teen ages up and can go to university that’s my favorite! So the sims 4 can skip toddlers in my opinion……
But I do agree with some of you that are saying that the sims 4 is messing up big time the gameplay is so limited and its game after game that you have to buy just to make it a little better sometimes not even worth it I will be so pissed if they don’t make something like university and late night of the sims 3 von voyage and apartment life of the sims 2
i feel the same way if there had been toddlers i would age them up immidiatly i find no valuable gameply in them at least for my view. i could care less either way i dont mind that there arent any toddlers.
I really loved the toddler part of the Sims 3, and miss it in 4. It really gave the parents a chance to interact with their offspring, and The Sims 4 lacks baby interactions. However, if the community seems to be about 50/50 on the toddler thing, you think they could add a free pack, like the Christmas one from last year?
I am so glad I’m not the only one who isn’t obsessed with getting toddlers back. They were so limited in Sims 3 that I used to set my Sims’ time as toddlers to the absolute minimum number of days. I’m very interested to see if Maxis stand their ground on this or give in and add toddlers.
I didn’t care for em I want more fun content and the toddlers were not fun. The game isn’t boring without em and I rather see more efforts put into other parts of the game other then this low key feature.
I disagree. The game is quite boring without them, there really isn’t much to do as a child, teen or elder. They want us to play with life but only give us one fully developed life stage – the young adult. I don’t want copies of Sims 3 or Sims 2 toddlers, I want something new and creative and adorable and fun. I want completely new interactions for toddlers, and for them to be able to build relationships with others. I want them to be at least half as developed as young adults. EA could definitely do that, and yet they decide to add yet another useless feature for young adults, who are incredibly spoiled as it is already …
Yes we need toddlers sims 4 team!!!!
I can live without toddler :0)
I think the stages are messy altogether :/ children dont get to keep their mastered skills later in life, teens look and can dress like adults only thing that is different is the fact they go to school n cant woohoo, i have to keep hovering over heads to see their life stage LOL i think for the peace sake they should bring it back, i for one miss that stage and people that are not so bothered can still skip it 🙂 but i really think the teen stage needs looking into (i sure dont want my daughter wearing skimpy outfits for bed!!!) why are they the same height as adults lol its weird
I totally agreed with you.
I have recently learned teens can woohoo. I’ve been able to “mess around” and it is in fact the woohoo interaction.
Do I think we need them? Yes. It is a huge jump from baby to child, and it’d looks quite odd watching a child jump out of a bassinet. Plus I’m soooooo sick of seeing people whine and ask “where are toddlers? Toddlers? I want toddlers..”
That being said, when I went back to playing the sims 3, I was driven mad by the toddlers. Holy hell they were so freaking annoying. They’re horrid whining animation and the sound they make is horrific and I pray that when toddlers are added back to the sims 4, that they are done better.
I’ve been playing since 2002, In Sims one baby’s was stuck to the bassinet and was nothing important. Then Sims 2 came out. I loved the fact that we could bathe both infant and toddler. You could change their diaper, teach them, do a family kiss to the toddlers and child. You would see your sim randomly tuck your young ones in bed. There was so much more interaction between parent and infant/toddler in The Sims 2, that The Sims 3 was a let down in that area. I was expecting so much more with the toddlers. I thought maybe the toddlers would have been able to communicate with each other, but no. Which is what you said they were worthless in interaction but they were still apart of the stage of life. When I heard there were no toddlers I was upon many that were upset but still going to buy and play the game because I was a fan. I still miss the toddlers but I will have to agree, If they are brought back I would expect more than what we got in the Sims 3. I want what we had in the Sims 2 plus some interaction between toddlers. If not they might as well just keep them out!
That what you said at the end i 100% agree with like i was thinking yea keep the teach to talk walk and potty but what if they added teach to ride a trcicle or even swim you know, stuff like that and even add in new ways for the toddler to learn like when daycare was a career but when the parent’s go to work instead of have a babysitter come do apsslutely nothing. The entire time have the toddler go to Kindergarden or pre school and have them learn to color or w/e that would be cool even come up with new, clothes and ways for other toddlers to interact while playing at home i would love to see changing tables and bathing be put back in just like one huge stuff pack and exspantion pack put into one…..
I agree with your viewpoints, I know I’m probably in the minority but I never really enjoyed babies or toddlers, and yes their actions were severely limited. If they brought them back in a free update or a EP, I wouldn’t complain, though they need a complete overhaul. However if it was just a Toddler SP, I would quite possibly not buy it unless the toddlers were overhauled.
I have been playing the Sims since the beginning and own all of them (all generations and all expansion packs and stuff packs for all generations) plus quite a few console and hand held versions as well. My point is I have spent a small fortune over the years and that’s not including all the money I have spent in the Sims stores as well. I personally LOVE AND MISS THE TODDLERS! It’s supposed to be play with life and it is not realistic to jump from a bassinet as a infant into a preteen size child! I also agree with Cindy Jo about how wonderful the animations/interactions were in the Sims 2 and I as well would like to see that in the Sims 4 plus some new ones. Now with my personal feelings about it aside I also understand that as much as I love the toddlers that there are just as many people who don’t care for them at all and I completely RESPECT that. We all have to pay the same amount of money to enjoy these games so we should all be allowed to voice our opinion whether it’s for or against toddlers being added and I feel EA should weigh all our opinions equally since without all our money there would be no Sims. For all the people who don’t want the toddlers back please just keep in mind that when there are toddlers you have the option to skip over them and here I sit paying just as much money as you for the game and have NO option to have toddlers in my game. EA PLEASE BRING TODDLERS BACK! At the very least bring them back in a pack made just with toddlers/toddler clothes/toddler interactions etc. (nothing in the pack but toddlers) for those of us that want them then the people who don’t want them get their way as well.
Toddlers was always my favourite life stage. Teens are like mini adults and children I found boring and never played with. Toddlers I enjoyed the challenge and teaching them. Different personalities made them cry more or less, learn quicker. Sims 3 removed alot of interactions sims 2 had. My favourite challenge was one sim that hates children and 7 toddlers. I loved watching my sim go crazy.
First off i would like to say yes.. i think we need and deserve toddlers to be put back in its irritating most of us love the way it worked made it feel real
however i do believe that sims should be more invalided with the toddler not only do what was in the game before but so much more teach them things that would improve or make it harder as the sim grew into a child i think trats should be added they should be able to bound with sims even other toddlers i think we should read to them teach them to walk/talk change diapers like normal they should make them more smart have little nitches like oops where did they learn that from nonono or teach them to share with sisy or bubba
give them different sounds crys laughs thats just how it should be 96% of people want toddlers i think it robes us of our life phases and story lines please give them a reprieve maxis/ea we deserve our wanted game play back plus if you look at it you are making more from us then before why not give us what we want this time heck make it a fun pack toddlers clothes toys learning stuff deco make it all about babys that alone to me is worth the 9-10-20$ u norm charge us
I 100% believe that toddlers should definitely be added into The Sims 4.
Personally, when i play The Sims, I focus a lot on the family aspect of the game. I love building relationships between parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, aunt, uncles… Without toddlers, the game almost feels…empty.
I am not saying that there isn’t enough content; the game just came out a little over a year ago! And the speed that content is being produced at is great!
I do believe, though, that without Toddlers the life stages from Baby to Child are simply unrealistic.
Now, isn’t this game based off of real life? Are you not supposed to be ‘Playing with Life?’ How could you possibly achieve that when the basic life stages in a human’s life are not even in The Sims?
I do expect Toddlers to be a part of the game in the near future. And I do believe that when they come back, they will be cuter and better than any other Sims games.
I expect WAY more interactions, with both Toddlers and Babies.
As long as they make them look realistic and that they have more interactions, objects and much more, they will be a BIG hit!
Apart from that, I hope for Pre-Teens and hopefully more content that has more to do with Life and less to do with random things that we can wait for.
Bring on Generations, Seasons, Pets and University!!! Hahah .
I totally agree with everything you said. Thank you for being my voice.
I would like to know how many of the people who say that doesn’t want or need toddlers won’t update the game if they come in a patch for free….Or how many won’t buy the expansion pack….
Yes we most definitely need them. For me it’s about immersion. When you have a baby go straight to being a child that breaks the immersion for me and ultimately ruins the experience for me. Which is why I’ve found it hard to play this iteration of the game because it has so many immersion breakers. Like Sims not having carpools or cars when they travel. The Sims is about playing with life and toddlers are apart of that.
Yep, still need them. What I don’t need, like at all, is the young adult and adult stages to be separated. They’re literally the exact same state. No difference in appearance, behavior, actions, animations nothing. I have no clue why that is a thing since TS3. My family player heart yearns for babies that aren’t objects, toddlers like those in TS2 and teens that look like teens and behave like teens. I’m going to be forever sad that the developers decided to leave all us family players behind when they created this new iteration. If you’ve never played TS2 I understand if you don’t have the same love for the different life stages, that game had it all figured out and then they lost it. Too bad. #TS2RULES
Whoa. Great post. I played the sims on and off over the years. But i did dabble a little in the sim :3. I have to agree it was extra work. Especially when you couldn’t build relationships. After all, that is the coolest thing about the sims. I love the sims 4! This is the first game I have followed all the way through. I don’t think it’s necessary for toddler play. Awesome post!!
People whom enjoy family RP flock to The Sims to explore their virtual realities. Regardless if the toddlers seems pointless to some, for others, it’s an important life stage and RL toddlers are restricted from most activities as well. They complete the virtual family illusion and gives people that maternal/paternal aspect of life simulation. As the creators says, everything they create cannot appeal to all. Me personally, I never understood why people complain about game features such as toddlers when you can simply age them up if you think they’re pointless. Self centered thinking lead people to make a big fuss about such things. It’s called compromising. If people knew how to do that, toddlers would have never been left out of the game.
We need the toddlers in the game period. We have a lot of crazy stuff that has nothing to do with everyday life but no toddlers. I wish that Will Wright could come and take back his game and make it better the way his customers like to play
I’ve played the sims ever since sims 2 was released. Thought babies in the sims 4 are tied to the crib I don’t mind to much because I was always having to order the lazy parents to pick up the baby and put it back. The babies could have more interactions attached to them, but i think maxis’s priorites for babies and toddlers are low. Even though I don’t mind about the babies I am appalled with the fact that toddlers where taken out. I know that a lot of people like the sims 3 more than 2 but like 2 because it was more realistic to me. I loved making a family and watching that family get bigger and bigger. I like seeing the kids outside playing with the toddlers, it was a joyes thing for me the toddler stage, so when I found out I was really let down. I don’t have as much fun because I feel empty and that the families aren’t families. There just indervidual sims who live in the same house and are more like friend than family. This is the way I feel about the lack of toddlers it interrupted the family life and makes I almost impossible to play.
Sims has always said “play with life”. Every body does this differently. I dont know how you play sims nor do i care and nor do i judge you for it and assume you way of playing sims is more or less important.
Sims used to be a game that anybody could sit down and play but i feel like with sims 4 they looked at their audience selected ,what i can only assume was, the majority and made them an awesome new game.
And as for everyone else?
For the meticulously detailed creators and for the loving family builders.
Who cares they aren’t important.
I’v been playing since sims 2 with sims 3 being my favorite. I love to make huge multi generational families just like mine is in real life. And i love all of the interactions with the toddlers. From decorating the nursery to teaching them to walk to carrying them everywhere. Their first words excited me and they were all real milestones that we all went through, that our parents went through with us even though we were “annoying”.
If u dont like it maybe dont make babies or something but dont spoil it for those of us who do by saying its unimportant.
The way the game is now, i find it boring and disappointing. The babies are practically objects and the children spend basically their whole stage in school and there no bonding, character developing stage in between. I’v never really known what to do with the adults besides send them to work and make them raise children(which i found fun). In my opinion sims 4 is the worst yet, sims 3 was better in every way except outfits and hair options. And im not buying any more sims products unless it has toddlers in it. Cuz i feel a huge section of the community has been abandoned, i dont think its fair. And dont think i should support such unfairness.
-“family-oriented sim”
i loved the toddlers of Sims 2. Sims 3, not so much, but still think there is a place for them. sometimes i want them in a family, sometimes i don’t. the ability to skip a stage would be wonderful.
I really don’t understand why so many are saying how they didn’t like toddlers and they don’t mind that they are gone…. you can just age them up, there is really no inconvenience to having an extra life stage when you can just age them straight up if you want to. What is inconvenient is having a life stage removed. I hardly ever play elders, but I would not like the life stage removed, because I like them being in the neighbourhood and being a part of the community. WIthout elders it would be…. weird.
I have just had one of my sims have a baby and now I really regret it. You can’t take the baby away from the bassinet. You cannot even sit and watch tv with the baby on your lap. I remember in sims 2 the baby and toddler stages were really detailed. You even got to bath the baby in a baby bath which was so cute. I liked that sims 3 introduced the pushchairs, but there wasn’t really enough interactions with babies or toddlers even with generations. Now I’m not sure I can face even playing sims 4 again. I know that as soon as the baby stage is over, they will age up to child then they will be sent to school. Bah. Perhaps there will be some interesting child interactions but I doubt it.
There should be way more baby stuff. Baby showers, presents, babysitters and days out. At the moment it is very sims 1 – I just want to age up and send to military school right now. LOL
im a big sims fan i have almost ever sim game now the sims 4 is a lil lame cause we cant do as much as we can on the sims 3 like dowload houseing cars and toddlers i wish they would add all of that to the sims 4 then it would be alot more better.
I really think there should be toddlers I mean who thinks not, it doesn’t make sense for a baby to go straight to a child I mean sure toddlers were annoying but that just took away the realism of the game.
I really think there should be toddlers I mean who thinks not, it doesn’t make sense for a baby to go straight to a child I mean sure toddlers were annoying but that just took away the realism of the game.
My Toddler experience is all from “Sims 2”, but it’s relatively the same as yours. The Toddler stage is a fun challenge once or twice, but then you master skill building and you run into the problem that they are absolutely boring as playable characters. You can’t have them break out of their cribs, or scoot down stairs, or get into everything and make messes like a real toddler would. They’re just glorified baby dolls…which, I guess for people who only like the cute side of babies and children is O.K. For people who like the more adventurous and mischievous side of those years, how ever, the baby doll act is a disappointingly dull experience. I mean, for me, it really kills the stage’s replay value.
If they do eventually add Toddlers to “Sims 4”, I’d love to see more playability in the form of the ability to scoot down stairs and break out of playpens and cribs on their own, toddler beds so that you don’t have to get them out of the crib to use the potty once they’re potty trained (That was a real nuisance, having to take an adult sim away from sleeping or skill building to get a kid equivalent to 2-3 years old out of a crib to use the bathroom!), and more realistic interactions with stuff (like “pull clothes out” when interacting with chests of drawers or “Eat Bugs” in outdoor areas like backyards and parks). That would make them so much more fun to play with! I mean, if they could fix the Child stage by giving them the ability to make microwave dinners and fix a bowl of cereal on their own and removing those obnoxious social workers so that you could have latchkey kids, I’m sure that Toddlers could be similarly enhanced.
I don’t agree at all! What you’re forgetting here is that toddlers in real life are pretty much just as limited in what they can do. You complain that the sim toddler needed an adult to go in the water, WTF kind of parent do you know that would let their real toddler go into the water on their own?
The relationship building between toddlers, again this doesn’t happen in real life, so why would it happen in the Sims? My son has been in daycare and thus interacting with other babies/toddlers since he was 3 months old and only remembers the kids who were in his pre-school class. Pretty soon (now that he’s at school) he won’t remember them either.
The only thing I can agree on is that it would have been cool if they could have traits and be mischievous or whatever. Maybe when they add in toddlers to the sims 4 (I’m ever hopeful) they’ll expand on them a little bit. As always, if they do, there’ll be the option to age up straight away just like there is with the babies.
I think it would make the game more enjoyable if you guys added toddlers.
i think toddlers should be added, but with more gameplay, id like sims 2 and 3 toddlers together, and a better learning system, like come on, what toddler learns how to talk in less than 10 minutes?! what toddler learns potty in 1 day? and also, it annoyed me when toddlers were potty trained but still wore a diaper, so made no mess at all.
I think toddlers should be added. I also think babies should not be tied to their cribs, and both should have more interactions. As a simmer, I’ve had Sims 1-3. I want to get the Sims 4 but with the babies and toddlers the way they are, I probably won’t buy it. Babies and toddlers were big life stages for me, I love taking care of them, and challenging myself with taking care of several. Now sims will be boring. Even if I have to pay for these things in a future game/expansion pack, I will. You should at least make this stuff possible for those who care and really want it!