Hey Dearies!
I know you all have been waiting for an update on the “Not So Berry” Sims Challenge I started working on, but I had to start all over. I’m really hoping I can get back up to speed and post an update soon!
Before my game crashed, I did some research to try to figure out what skills I could get started on sooner, before my Sims became adults. I was able to start the second generation, and I wanted to get a head start on getting the Sims’ skills started as soon as I could.
Since the “Not So Berry” Challenge, once your original Sim has aged to become an elder, you can mainly focus on the next generation. Of course, you can jump from each of the Sims at any point, but I always want to get a head start.
So, I’m going to break it down for each age gap and let you know when you can start to build skills:
Baby/Toddlers
For babies, there really isn’t much you can do, other than build their relationship with the parents or teenagers in the household and take care of them until they become old enough to be a toddler.
For toddlers, there are a few things that you have to do to pick their next trait before they age up. Which is teaching them to walk & talk, as well as potty training them. As long as those 3 are done before the toddler ages up, it will allow you to pick the best traits needed to level up your skills faster!
There are only 2 skills that toddlers can work on while they are toddlers, which are logic and guitar skills. The peg box will help with the logic skill, and the xylophone will help with the guitar skill.
Of course, you can reach 3 levels for each of those, but you won’t see any progress show up under their skill bar; however, it can help with lifetime wishes, which you can use in most challenges to speed up their skill level.
Children
For children, this is where you can start developing their skills. Usually, I wait until they are teenagers to start, but there are a few skills you can actually start now for them! However, some of the skills they can gain might be capped at level 3. Here are a few ways to get their skills started:
- Cooking: The best way to start this skill is to get the toy oven. They won’t be able to use an actual oven until they become teenagers. However, this will still be invisible until they become a teenager.
- Fishing: They can fish at any body of water to gain this skill! Trying out different ponds or lakes will get them to catch different fish, and you can sell their catch at the grocery store or have it saved in the fridge for someone in the household to cook!
- Logic: This will be the only skill book that will appear for children to be able to read. Of course, they can also gain this skill by playing chess on a chess table or on the computer as well. As well as the building blocks, but I usually have them either read or play chess on the computer, as those are the faster ones.
- Athletic: This is also another skill that is “hidden” until they become a teenager. However, you can start working on this skill by having them work out on the TV/stereo or the playground equipment, as well as build that skill.
- Guitar/Bass/Drums/Piano: I actually didn’t know they could start any of these until they were a teen; however, they can. However, they have to get to level 3 on the xylophone first in order to unlock this. I’m not sure if they can learn songs, but it might have to wait until they are a teen to do so. Also, I don’t think the skills will show until they are older.
- Painting/Writing: These are my favorite skills to have my Sims work on! They are always my go-to, no matter what Sims game I’m playing! You can get them started on these; however, they won’t show the skill level until they have aged into a teenager. Especially if I get them into the writing skill, I make them focus on just refining their skill and then start having them write books once they are a teenager; usually I get lucky that the book will become a best seller that way.
- Gardening: I didn’t know that children could start gardening; however, they can start doing basic gardening. Again, this skill may not show up; however, if there is an older Sim that has mastered gardening, they can tutor the child on it.
Teenagers
For teenagers, there are more ways to start gaining skills. Not only through some of the items, but also by reading skill books at the library. They can start gaining all adult skills at this point, and depending on whether you have the Generations Pack instead, some other ways will gain skills as well!
- Generations Pack: So, with this expansion pack, you unlock more features for the children/teenagers. Both can pick up after-school activities to do; however, the children are only limited to 2, while teenagers have a few to pick from:
- Children: Scouts and Ballet are the only two choices available to them. They don’t gain any skills with them, but they do get awards after completing them.
- Teenagers: Now, they have more options for after-school activities, up to 2, but it does depend on which ones they select. If you do sign your teenager up for after-school activities, make sure they don’t have a part-time job, as this can be tricky and can possibly stress them out. Here are the options and what skills they can gain from them:
- Art Club – Increases Painting and Sculpting skills (Ambitions Expansion)
- Debate Club – Increases logic skills
- Drama Club – Increases Charisma skills
- Band Club – Increases guitar skills and/or other instruments, depending on which expansion pack is installed. (Late Night Expansion)
- Athletics – Increases Athletic skill
- Scouts – Increases Gardening and Fishing skills
The Generations Pack also has a feature where you can send your child/teenager to boarding school. However, there are a lot of bugs and problems doing so.
An example that I actually had happen to me is that I attempted to do this and ended up having a lot of issues with getting my Sim back. I had to reset the game a few times and the Sim itself, but nothing really worked, so I avoided sending my Sims to boarding school.
I also only messed around with it once, so I didn’t want to attempt to do it again, especially if I was working on a challenge. I believe there is a way to fix it; I just haven’t looked into it because I like having them go to a normal school.
I did want to include it, just in case others have no problems with the boarding school feature. Here is a list of which boarding schools and what skills they can gain from attending:
- School of Peace and Love: Cooking, Fishing, Gardening, and Nectar Making (This one is for World Adventures Expansion Pack)
- Dribbledine Sports Academy: Athletic, Handiness, and Martial Arts (This one is for World Adventures Expansion Pack)
- LeFromage Art School: Charisma, Guitar, Painting, Sculpting (Ambitions Expansion), Photography, Bass, Piano, and Drums
- Smuggsworth Prep School: Charisma, Logic, and Writing
One of my biggest tips is that whenever you have a challenge, which is focusing on reaching level 10 in skills, write a checklist of what needs to be completed. Like the “Not So Berry” Challenge, I’m working on a checklist that I want to share, so that if you want to give it a go, you can and have a guide to help you through it!
Even if you aren’t doing a challenge, this is good information to know, especially if you want to get your Sim started on gaining skills right away! Especially if you want them to go to college, this will make it easier for you to pass those classes so you can get away with trying out other features that you weren’t able to before.
Normally, I won’t have my teenager get a job if I want them to get their skills up, if I plan on sending them to university, so by the time they graduate, I can send them to college and get the degree faster.
Anyway, I hope this information helps; it helped me out a lot! I’m really hoping I have an update on the challenge I’m working on. Life has been very busy for me lately, so I only have a few windows when I can.
Fun Question! What skills do you always start having your Sims gain first? For me, it’s Cooking, Logic, and Handiness, but depending on their traits, I’ll do others like Writing and Painting.
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