How to Make a Daycare with The Sims 4 Businesses & Hobbies

Have you been wondering how to make a daycare in The Sims 4?

The Sims 4: Businesses and Hobbies has quickly become one of my favorite expansion packs in recent years for The Sims 4. In my opinion, it brings a refreshing change to the game by introducing numerous new features. One unofficial new feature that the community has been LOVING is the ability to run a functional in-home daycare business. This is totally a dream come true for those family-focused players or storytelling simmers.

Although The Sims Team hasn’t officially labeled “Daycare” as a venue type, Businesses & Hobbies opens up many flexible new ways to build a daycare that is actually pretty much functional and actually works. With a bit of imagination, players can build fully operational childcare centers with toddler play areas, feeding sections, nap rooms, and even more. Sims 4 Content Creators such as Lilsimsie and Simsational Char have popularized the concept, showing how exciting it is to create a Daycare in The Sims 4.

Let’s walk through together how to create your own daycare and make the most out of this new expansion pack!

Initial Daycare Setup in The Sims 4

Setting up your daycare is fairly simple if you follow the following steps:

Step One: Build or Select your Daycare Lot

Let’s begin by choosing or building a starter home that can be customized for child care. An in-home daycare works best, in my opinion, for flexibility and ease of gameplay.

Step Two: Register Your Small Business

Using the new Small Business system from The Sims 4: Businesses and Hobbies, register your daycare business for 750 Simoleons.

Step Three: Naming Your Daycare

This is your moment to get creative! I recommend choosing something sweet, professional, and simple. (Name ideas below!)

Step Five: Set Your Customer Type

For your “Target Customer” choose supervise customer. This helps to tell the game you are looking after Sims (such as a daycare!) rather than selling them something such as a product or service.

Step Six: Choose Your Target Age Group

Select Infant, Toddler, and/or Child as the group criteria for your small business. But first, select “Supervised Customer” as a Category.

Step Seven: Require age Criteria

Leave “Make selected Criteria Required” checked. This allows parents to drop off their kiddos instead of having to be there the entire time and supervise their children for you.

Building the Perfect Daycare Space

Now comes the fun part; designing your daycare!

Creating a Cozy, Functional Space

I highly recommend designing a home-based daycare to maximize comfort and versatility in the game.

Here are some areas I would include:

• Playroom: Fill it with toys such as building blocks, tablets, dolls, stuffed animals, and maybe even a drawing table.
• Nap Room: Create a calm environment with toddler beds or cribs. Use soft lighting, maybe some curtains, and calming solid wall colors.
• Feeding Area: Add high chairs and a kitchen space for preparing snacks and meals for the kids.
• Reading Nook: Include bookshelves, a rug, and comfy seating for storytime. I would recommend a circle rug for a “circle time” aspect.

Outdoor Playground, Yes Please!

Don’t forget about the outdoor space! Place a slide, ball pits, and other fun outdoor activities for the kids to enjoy during their day.

Tip: Use the Tiny Home Residential lot type if you would like to take advantage of boosted relationship-building and even skill gains. Plus, it will even help you save on your household bills.

Storyline Inspiration for Your Daycare

1. A sim who recently quit their 9 to 5 career to pursue their passion for working with children.
2. A single parent running an in-home daycare to stay close to their own kids.
3. A retired teacher offering childcare to serve their community and care for the neighborhood kids.

Daycare Name Ideas

Here are some fun and themed names to inspire you to create your own Daycare with The Sims 4: Businesses & Hobbies expansion pack.

1. The Sunshine Center
2. Nordhaven’s Haven
3. Little Sprouts learning loft
4. Tiny Tykes Corner
5. Rainbow Steps Childcare
6. Cozy Cubs Playhouse
7. The Naptime Nook

My Final Thoughts

Creating a daycare with The Sims 4: Businesses & Hobbies is a wholesome and rewarding gameplay experience. It opens up new storytelling opportunities, enhances family gameplay, and makes this expansion feel brand new again. Whether you are playing as a dedicated caretaker sim or you just want to create a busy, happy household, this daycare small business adds a whole new level of depth to your Sims’ World.