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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#1 Old 18th Sep 2018 at 10:11 AM
Is Parenthood even worth it?
I decided to ask the community about this one since even though I watched YouTube Review on it that showed most of what you can do with it. I am still at odds with myself when considering if I should even bother with it or if I should just say screw it and get something else like Jungle Adventures.

So if anyone does have Parenthood could you please give me your opinionated answers to these few questions I have? Thank you.

-Does it just make the game harder or does it actually add pretty cool things to raising kids?
-What is new about it other than the values you get for Teens and younger which are influenced by how you raise them?
-How far can you go with telling your kid what to do when playing the parents?
-Is there a mod that disables farting and belching? Because I honestly don't like the idea of such things in my game even if it makes it more realistic.
-What is the best thing about the Parenthood Game Pack in your opinion?

And for how I feel on it, I am really at odds with if I should get it or not because I really don't raise kids in the game often and usually just create a household and play around with them. Would it even be worth it? I don't feel like really it is worth it for me at least, though I figured I should get some other opinions from other people that actually have Parenthood and play it. Thanks for reading.
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Scholar
#2 Old 18th Sep 2018 at 1:01 PM
I don't have Parenthood, but if you don't play with kids often or have families with lots of kids, I don't think it would be worth getting.
Scholar
#3 Old 18th Sep 2018 at 9:07 PM
-Does it just make the game harder or does it actually add pretty cool things to raising kids?

From my experience the pack doesn't make the game any harder. The character value meters move too slow for toddlers to matter, so in that stage you can safely ignore them and fully concentrate on the needy little rugrats's skills. Then, once you hit child and teen stage there is enough time to work in the values. Getting the values down is difficult and I quickly installed a mod that makes the values drop faster. The same mod also allows for them go up faster, but I never felt I needed that. If you decide to ignore values altogether, nothing is getting harder, either. The sims will simply age up neutral with no bonus or penalty traits gained. Although depending on your playstyle the sims may aquire the Well mannered and Responsible bonus trait even if you do not work towards them. It hasn't happened for my sims, but I imagine just sending them to school and doing homework regularly would shoot responsibility over the roof. It's very easy to raise.

-What is new about it other than the values you get for Teens and younger which are influenced by how you raise them?

Placemats come to mind first. Place them on the dining table before calling to meal and chances are good that your sims will actually gather around the table and eat there instead of next to a random stranger halfway across the neighborhood.

There are also new toys and different school projects that can be bought directly from the catalogue. Working on them raises skills (rocket science, handyness, maybe other, didn't pay enough attention).

Sims of all ages can volunteer for soup kitchens, working at retirement homes or cleaning the beach. It's a rabbit hole event and afterwards they recieve a happy moodlet. Teenagers will also get a chance card. But adults can do this without a teen needed to be present. I like this option a lot.

A household messaging board where sims can leave drawings and little messages for other sims, regardless of age. It's cute, I should use it more often.

-How far can you go with telling your kid what to do when playing the parents?

I don't know. I prefer playing neighborhood terrors instead of raising my sims' children responsibly. But I know there is an "influence" interaction that can fail and a "force to" interaction that is unlocked at higher levels of the parenting skill that seems to be non-negotiable. Parenting can be skilled rather quickly just by interacting with your baby.

On a related note, be careful with the disciplining actions. I tried them out a few times, but quickly returned to my old "make believe" way of disciplining my sims's kids with the hand buzzer prank or simply locking the doors. The problem with the Parenthood disciplining actions is that they cause instant value adjustments. So if you yell at your teen for something they did wrong, the teen will instantly agree with you. They even get Focused for getting time outs and say how good the experience was for them. No tantrums, no silent defyance, nothing. Also volunteering instantly raises empathy, even of the teen in question was ordered to volunteer by their parole officer. It makes roleplaying deviants properly very hard and aiming for well-adjusted kids very easy.

-Is there a mod that disables farting and belching? Because I honestly don't like the idea of such things in my game even if it makes it more realistic.

I'm sure there is, but I don't know where to download one. Personally I'd just use SCAM (included in MCCC) if I wanted to get rid of an autonomous action.

-What is the best thing about the Parenthood Game Pack in your opinion?

The character values, especially the Ask for Advice interaction. Children and teenagers can ask their guardians for advice (usually autonomously only, but a mod can lock/unlock the interaction), that is, you get a short question and must give one of up to four (depending on parenting skill) answers. Each answer will raise one character value, but at the same time lower another one and at low parenting skill you have no clue which values will get affected. Also occasionally the school will call and ask how to react to your children' actions (punish or not, and if yes, how). I like watching how my sims offspring turns out based on those decisions.

If you enjoy roleplaying your sims you'll love that feature. Sometimes I really struggle with the answers, for example when the parent in question would like their offspring to be more empathic, but the answer that is most in-character for the parent actually lowers empathy. (I do not have an example on top of my head, but it did happen a few times). Or the day when I made a sim child ask her mother for advice, then I made her ask the father and she asked the same question twice (it's random)! Like, she REALLY wanted to be certain. Normally mother and father would have given different answers according to their personality, but with both standing right next to each other made it tricky. The father had to decide Do I answer truthfully, even if it means openly contradicting what her mother said? In the end he repeated the mother's answer.

However, if you are more about time management or being succesful in your game you might soon find the system boring, repetitive and predictable.
Smeg Head
#4 Old 18th Sep 2018 at 9:27 PM
-Does it just make the game harder or does it actually add pretty cool things to raising kids?
There are some nice activities and creative things for teens and kids to get through. A varied selection by TS4 standards (Opposed to wide selection, being things 20 different things to do on a computer that all amount to the same thing, same animation, different forgettable buff.) The numerous things - School Projects - they can build, and the varying qualities from poor to excellent they can be built in, is a nice feature. All interesting.

-What is new about it other than the values you get for Teens and younger which are influenced by how you raise them?
The main part of going through that raising and parenting skill, are the child and teen mood swings. They've got to be the most annoying element in the long run. You will probably be looking for mods to reduce, tame or even obliterate them before the end. Which is good because myself and other modders have done some work on this element.

-How far can you go with telling your kid what to do when playing the parents?
All the way up till the become young adults, if you can stand the ups and downs and swings and roundabouts along the way. Or your mileage for mods that manage that better for you. But do a good (Or bad) job and they get a selection of good (Or bad) special behaviour traits that give them more nicer (Or terrible) behaviours as an adult.

-Is there a mod that disables farting and belching? Because I honestly don't like the idea of such things in my game even if it makes it more realistic.
I'm pretty sure I've seen one knocking about for farting and or belching. Try the Where Can I Find forum on this site for more feedback on that.

-What is the best thing about the Parenthood Game Pack in your opinion?
As answered in the first question. But is it worth the whole pack? The mood swings will have you indulging in your own mood swings with stroppy teens and kids from time to time. But it can be funny sometimes, and with mods it can be managed and not overbearing. So the more positive construction elements of building the School Projects wins out over the negatives - because the negatives can now be managed.

"Become a government informer. Betray your family and friends. Fabulous prizes to be won!" Red Dwarf - Back to Reality.

Find all my TS4 mods and lots here: Main Website - simsasylum.com My Section - coolspear's Mods & Lots
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#5 Old 19th Sep 2018 at 12:03 AM
Quote: Originally posted by CatMuto
I don't have Parenthood, but if you don't play with kids often or have families with lots of kids, I don't think it would be worth getting.

I do play with families sometimes, I just have not yet done so in my time of playing Sims 4. I have been too busy having a blast with the build tools and sims creation, so I was considering getting it for it's possible roleplaying mechanics that could make parenting more immersive. I was not sure if it was what I thought it was, so I wanted to check with people who actually have the game pack, since even after watching YouTube reviews I was still on neutral grounds about it.

Enki pretty much touched base on the things I was curious about in their answer, so thank you for that Enki. I will still wait for maybe one or two posts before deciding though. If it is as immersive as Enki seemed to say it was then I may choose to get it, but will wait for a sale of course since I rather not pay $20 for it.
Lab Assistant
#6 Old 20th Sep 2018 at 1:06 AM Last edited by MysticCandy : 22nd Sep 2018 at 6:16 AM.
I haven't yet explored everything that comes with the pack because I play on a long lifespan and I've only recently had my first toddler age up to child but this is my two cents.

I like that it makes it feel much more like actions have consequences when it comes to raising kids. for example, I had a toddler who, when she was angry once, decided to just go beat on the teddy bear to let off steam, which decreased her empathy, which made her more likely to hit the bear. I didn't pay attention to it until I decided to check on her values one day and saw her empathy was deep in the red. the result was that she would often end up yelling at her two little brothers (also toddlers) and pick fights with her parents a lot. she's doing much better now in the child stage but her last days as a toddler were hell for her parents.

I also like that there are different ways you can discipline kids for their behavior. I usually have the dad in my current family use the calm interactions whereas with the mom I have her lean more towards firm and if she's in a bad mood I'll even sometimes have her yell at the kid she's disciplining. it's just one more thing I can use to add a little personality to my sims.

for me, it definitely makes parenting more immersive and adds to the roleplaying element of the game. honestly when I realized that toddler had gotten into the habit of hitting the bear and it was causing her to actually be mean to her siblings and parents because she now had no empathy to speak of I thought it was hilarious and I had a blast playing through that scenario.
Lab Assistant
#7 Old 20th Sep 2018 at 4:35 PM
-Does it just make the game harder or does it actually add pretty cool things to raising kids?
It does not make the game harder, but it does let you decide how you want your sims to grow up. The character values really make a difference in how your sims will communicate and interact with one another on a daily basis. For example, If you child sim gains manner trait they would be more inline to complete friendly interactions with other, clean up after themselves, set the table, compliment another sim, etc. If your loses manner trait they would be more inline to become a slob, belch, fart, swear, interact rudely with others, etc. If anything I believe it adds more depth into the raising a sim. You can choose if you want them to gain, lose of just have neutral character values.

-What is new about it other than the values you get for Teens and younger which are influenced by how you raise them?
- Children and Teens can go through phases - Children can do through phase where they become picky eaters, loud (play instruments or music loudly), they want to be a bear (funniest and cutest phase), children want to cling to parents. Teens can go through phases where they are distant from others, rebellious, and want to be mean to others. All phases are temporary.
- Packing lunches for sims
- mood swings
- parenting skill - parents can correct toddlers, children and teens behavior and influence their emotions and daily tasks
- children/teens can be grounded or sent to time out
- children and teens complete projects for extra credit - toddlers can break project and make them start over XD
- bulletin board - set curfew, leave notes and drawings
- sims can get their own journal - helps with emotional control, sims can hide it in their bed and others can steal it to read.
- sims can volunteer - improve empathy and relationship with family members. (rabbit hole)
- chance card - parent will have opportunities to give advice to children and teenagers that affect their behavior moving forward
- make a mess - children and toddlers can autonomously make a mess anywhere.

-How far can you go with telling your kid what to do when playing the parents?
you can make them do chores, homework/projects, praise them for their accomplishments, ground them or put them in time out when you think they are doing something bad.
When grounding your children or teen you choose whether they lose their toys, music, not able leave the house, no computer, no games, etc. When putting your child or teen in time out they will sit down and do nothing for a little while.

-Is there a mod that disables farting and belching? Because I honestly don't like the idea of such things in my game even if it makes it more realistic.
there is only a mod to stop musical farting notes here:
http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=555431

-What is the best thing about the Parenthood Game Pack in your opinion?
The best thing about the parenthood pack in my opinion is the character values, parenting skill and the phases that the children and teenagers go through. It adds more depth to the game and makes me feel as though I'm really making a difference in the upbringing of my toddlers, children and teenagers. Like I mentioned before it does not make the game harder, it just adds more depth into the upbringing of your sims. I cant remember a day where I didn't have this pack, It's my favorite pack out of all of the others that EA has created and I'm not just saying that. I don't go out and buy every pack that they release, I just have a few that I believe that I can't play without. If you like playing families just to play with them DON'T GET THIS PACK, if you think that you would be interested in raising a family and having control of the upbringing of your sims GET THIS PACK!
Lab Assistant
#8 Old 20th Sep 2018 at 6:32 PM
oh I forgot about packed lunches! it's a small thing to some maybe but I think it's completely adorable! when my sim was pregnant with her twins she and her husband kept working at their art gallery and so she would end up very hungry by the end of the day. in order to avoid her being absolutely starving by the time they got home I'd have her husband pack her a lunch for the day and she'd get a nice little positive moodlet when she unpacked and ate it.
Instructor
#9 Old 21st Sep 2018 at 10:24 PM
Before answering your questions I would like to say Parenthood is my favorite pack aside from the kids stuff pack lol I'm a little bias because I'm a family player but I digress... moving on to your questions

-Does it just make the game harder or does it actually add pretty cool things to raising kids?
I can honestly say it does put a little bit of difficulty in raising kids. I mean if you think about it with skill building and having to deal with phases and mood swings it really does make it a bit harder. Especially when trying to raise the levels of character values in the process. But I embrace this because I want a game that isn't easy peasy.

-What is new about it other than the values you get for Teens and younger which are influenced by how you raise them?
You get to discipline them and in a sense ground them. For example, you can take away privileges and you can add a timed curfew. I do wish it was expanded on to where you can set the time instead of a preset time and I wish NPC sims would discipline their children about making messes in public places. You can also send them to timeout. Another thing they added that can get annoying sometimes is when your kid asks for advice and you only get better with the advice depending on your parenting skill. (More options)

-How far can you go with telling your kid what to do when playing the parents?
As far as you can go in the real world I guess lol. I'm a mother of 3 and day by day its things like cleaning up or being nice to their siblings haha or in relation to the game you can tell them to go build skills. It's a pretty decent list of things you can tell them to do and it all depends on your parenting level too.

-Is there a mod that disables farting and belching? Because I honestly don't like the idea of such things in my game even if it makes it more realistic.
I believe I've come across a mod for that. Thankfully I don't have too much of a problem with that in my game except for slob sims I come across. But I mean they're a slob so its what I expect from them you know?

-What is the best thing about the Parenthood Game Pack in your opinion?
I really like how it brings a fresh aspect to parenting and make it a bit more challenging. It adds back some things from previous games but with its own twist. I do wish they would have done a little more with this game pack. I would have like to have seen more things from previous games added but they can still make up for that in a generations pack. To be honest, if it were an expansion pack I'm sure they would have been able to add more, but I'm not sure if they would have done well... The Expansions team has a history of not bringing out the full potential in past packs *Khem GTW * but the game pack team seems to have been doing really well with their releases. Anyway, I'm off topic now I'll end with this, It added a lot to my game as a family player so if you're a family player I would highly recommend it.
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