Tag: teen

Posted in Gaming, Sims, Sims 3 Challenges

Sims Challenges – When Can You Start To Level Up Your Sims Skills

Posted on by Katie Night

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.

Posted in Mom Talk

Chores Ideas (The Mom Odysseys)

Posted on by Katie Night

Hey Dearies! I wanted to go over some chore ideas that you can do with your kiddos! I will be listing stuff for all ages too as well because you can start chores or the idea of chores as little as 2 years old.

My daughter is now 5, which is still crazy to me because yesterday I remember bringing her home from the hospital and now she is in preschool. Now that she is older, I wanted to start doing a chore chart for her and introduce chores and the idea of helping out around the house.

I bought her a chore chart that is magnetic and they give you options for different chore ideas, of course, some of them didn’t pertain to my daughter yet, such as homework. Every time they would do something on the chore chart, she would get to put a star next to it.

I haven’t been strict with her about it, yet, but I did get her excited to want to start doing chores around the house if it meant she got to put a star on her chore board. Lately, to get her to get stuff done, to reward her with some screen time or mostly playing Minecraft or Animal Crossing.

Here are her usual list of chores is just simple stuff, such as brushing her hair, brushing her teeth, getting dressed, picking up toys, setting the table, etc. Simple things that she can do. I haven’t pushed her to follow through with the other types of chores I want her to start doing because I don’t want to overwhelm her with them.

You don’t want to overwhelm them with a long list of chores because then they will never want to do it. I have started her with 5, which seems to go well and she still needs to be told to do them, but she will usually do them, if not I just tell her no Minecraft and she will start getting them done.

Now that you sort of know what I’ve got my daughter doing at home, let’s talk about what kinds of chores you can introduce to the little ones.

Chore Ideas for Ages 2-3 Years Old

Of course kids, this age don’t need to enforce it, but you can start introducing to them to some simple chore ideas such as these:

  • Pick up toys & books
  • Put trash in the garbage can
  • Dust
  • Put away silverware
  • Wipe baseboards
  • Fold rags &dishcloths
  • Put clothes in the hamper
  • Put clothes away in drawers

Chore Ideas for Ages 4-6 Years Old

At this age, is when you should start making a few chores mandatory for them to do. I would start with at least 3-5 chores that they are responsible for. You can also include some of these from up above:

  • Take care of the pets
  • Set & clean the table
  • Match Socks
  • Wipe down dirty walls
  • Empty trashes
  • Sweep

Chore Ideas for Ages 7-11 Years Old

At this age, doing chores should be something they should be doing every day. You might be also including allowance for them or treats for completing chores. They should be doing at least 5-10 chores a day and if you want to include one day of their choosing that they don’t have to do it. Here are some stuff they should be able to do:

  • Fold laundry
  • Sweep
  • Vacuuming
  • Take out the trash / Taking it out to the curb on trash day
  • Wash mirrors
  • Meal prep
  • Weed flowers / Garden
  • Clean out the car
  • Clean toilets
  • Clean room
  • Organize toy room
  • Bring in mail / newspaper

Chores Ideas for Ages 12+ Years Old

At this age, they should be doing chores all week long. They might be getting more of an allowance or none at all because they know they should be doing chores without being told to do so. Here are some other chore ideas that the older kids should be doing now:

  • Mow lawn
  • Babysit siblings
  • Wash windows
  • Iron
  • Wash car
  • Cook simple meals
  • Laundry
  • Mop floors
  • Clean bathroom
  • Clean out fridge

Of course, you don’t need to do it the way that I suggest because every parent has a different way of raising their children. I was raised to do chores and as we got older, my mother stopped paying us for it once we got older because when we lived on our own, we would have to do these things for ourselves.

What kind of chores do you have set for your kiddos? When did you first start them out with chores or at what age do you think they should start doing chores? Let me know in the comments!

Posted in Gaming, Sims

The Sims Saga: Which Do I Prefer?

Posted on by Katie Night

Image result for the sims

When you here the game Sims, what comes to mind? I think about The Sims games, creating a character and controlling their life. A lot of people forget that the Sims first originated from SimCity, where you created a city and made sure that it was successful.

I’m not going to talk about SimCity, though. This is mainly about The Sims. I’ll be honest, I’ve never actually played the Sims, but for it’s time, it was amazing. To be able to control their life, made them do whatever our hearts wanted them to do.

It was like GTA, but without the violence and free will to move your Sim manual. You could even create your dream house, have a family, or get the job of your dreams. When I got hooked, it wasn’t with the first The Sims, it was The Sims 2.

The Sims 2

Image result for the sims 2

The first time I saw The Sims 2, was when I was on YouTube. I had came across it and it was recommend to me. A lot of people actually used The Sims 2 game, to create movies or series, or what got me hooked on, was the teen pregnancy series.

You must think that I’m weird to like to watch them, but seriously, look up the series ‘My Life’. The creator of that series, she really got me to thinking that I wanted to do something creative like that. If you actually watch her series, from her very first episode, to her newer ones, she has come a long way.

The Sims 2 had more to offer, as well. There were more add-on’s to the game, such as the different seasons, hobbies, and even jobs. It made the game play more like real life.

I finally had a chance to buy it for myself, and I am currently, trying to learn how to film and make a good series, that I will post on my YouTube channel.

Even if you aren’t trying to make a series, its a great way to past the time on a rainy day. Hell, I even when forward and created my fiance, son, daughter, and myself into the game. I highly recommend getting this game! It’s the best of both worlds.

Now, let’s talk about its, aftermath…The Sims 3.

The Sims 3

Image result for the sims 3

I’m going to try my best not to bash this game. It wasn’t a bad sequel to The Sims 3. They added a lot of new things, such as making it easier to custom clothes and items, you didn’t have to wait for loading times to get from one place to another, and you could follow your Sim to work, the hospital, etc.

There was one BIG issue with this game. It is SO buggy. If you didn’t have the best computer in the world, you were bugging because your game would lag. Brand new or with mods, it would lag, or the loading time would take forever. Especially if you are in create-a-sim.

To me, the creators wanted to get this game out, as soon as possible because of the high demand that The Sims 2 was, so they did rush it, a little, by adding some stuff that the other games never had.

The one thing that I LOVED about it, was that you could follow your Sim anywhere without having to deal with those loading screens and the way you could custom, almost everything.

The Sims 3 was the first Sims game that I have ever own and I had the season, pets, and supernatural packs that made the game play so much fun! I wonder, now that I have a better computer, if it would run better?

Last, but not least, let’s get to the newer Sims game that came out in the last few years, The Sims 4.

The Sims 4

Image result for the sims 4

Again, this is another game I haven’t touched, yet, and I have looked into seeing if it is really worth getting, but to me, the creators went back a couple steps. You think with a newer game, it would be better and would fix the problems from the last game, well, they did, but not very well.

I have heard that the game play is okay, graphics are okay, etc. It is missing A LOT from The Sims 3 game. You have loading screens for EVERYWHERE you go, even if you are going to the next door neighbor.

It’s not as buggy or laggy, as The Sims 3 was, but they had to get rid of a lot of stuff, in order to fix it, which a lot of people were disappointed in. The Sims 4, seems to me, boring. Just because they didn’t add anything new that would make us get excited.

Although, they did add a pack that basically makes you do your Sims job. Which was something that we could do in the other games, but I would rather just fast-forward my Sim’s job, then doing it, I’m already controlling pretty much them, why should I have to do their work for them?

Which is worth playing?

Image result for the sims

The Sims 2, hands down. I would recommend it to everyone. It plays great on Windows 10, there is a few glitches, but it’s still playable. I like how the Sims are in this game and how you can do so much.

Plus, it still has that SimCity feeling to it, so that I could make my own town, I could. I am hoping to get a few more packs, just to play around with it some more. I do have the the Late Night and University packs, so I am hoping to either get Pets or Seasons next.

If you are a Sims fan, which game do you prefer? Leave a comment down below! There has also been a rumor that they are working on The Sims 5, do you thinks they should have another Sims? If so, what do you think they need to improve or leave alone?