The Sims 3 Pregnancy, Adoption, And Having Kids

The Sims 3 Guide to Having Kids

Pregnancy, Twins, Adoption, and Choosing Boy or Girl

Raising Kids in the Sims 3
Pregnancy/Adoption	Babies/Toddlers	Children
Teenagers	Birthdays	Bake Sales	Traits by Age

Related Links
Romance	Woohoo	Ghost Babies	Game Tips

This Sims 3 Guide was originally written for the PC and Mac versions of the game, but also will help owners of the console versions - PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii. Please remember some info or numbers may have changed.

In this The Sims 3 Guide to Raising Children, I hope to teach players about many aspects of being a parent and caring for children in the game. What you'll learn about raising kids from this guide is not only for Pc and Mac owners, but also serves the console Simmers who own an Xbox 360 or Playstation 3. Sim parents have responsibilities to their kids, to give them a good life and raise them to be successful. I'll help with information on the multiple ways to have a baby in the game, how to adopt, and woohoo to get pregnant successfully.

You'll find tips for every stage of childhood in the Sims 3, from baby, on to toddler and finally a child growing into a teenager. The different gameplay mechanics that determine how successful your Sims are as parents are explained, to help their kids make good grades in school, make friends, and study hard. Children raised carefully from babies all the way to adults will be the most successful Sims, because they can have a massive jump start on life, learning skills, and later choose a career and lifetime wish. They'll likely accomplish reaching the pinnacle spot in their chosen career, and completion of the lifetime wish in a shorter life span than any adult made with Create-a-Sim.

This first page deals with getting a kid in the first place, and your various options for doing so. Caring for babies and allowing trait selection is also a highlight. Look to the other sections of this guide for specific articles on raising kids from babies and toddlers, children, and finally as teens.

How to get a Baby: Getting Pregnant with The WooHoo! Method

This is the first and most obvious option for having a child in the Sims 3. Keep in mind that this will make an infant, and they can be time consuming to care for. It is better, much like in life, to have a planned pregnancy that is preceded by some money saving, career advancements and goal fulfillment by the parents. Some players might prefer to adopt an older child instead to skip these tough early life stages.

To make Sims woohoo and get pregnant, they must really like each other. To try for a baby, and expect a pregnancy, you must specifically use the try for baby action. Sims will rarely get pregnant by simply using Woohoo. The relationship bar will need to be very close to full for the action to succeed. Failing at a woohoo attempt can cause Sims' relationships to drop a touch, so trying to put the moves on too early can cause it to be harder to do later. To make Sims WooHoo for a baby, get them feeling into it, and find the action under the romance section. This will also appear as an option when two Sims are relaxing on a bed together.

If you want a greater chance at making babies with the woohoo try for baby action, take the fertility treatment lifetime reward. This will also boost the chances that your Sims have triplets and twins. This is not a good thing if you're a first time parent in the Sims. It can seriously ruin the game. Be sure you've tried the experience of parenting first before taking this route.

Cheating to Have Twin and Triplet BabiesThere are no pregnancy cheats to help you have twins or triplets, but a gameplay mechanic does influence this. If you want your Sim to get a high chance of getting pregnant with twins or triplets, as stated above, the first step is likely to get the fertility treatment. If both the mother and father Sims have it, this will help increase the chance for multiples even more. Additionally, having the mother Sim read pregnancy books, watch KidZ Zone TV and listening to children's music on the stereo will boost your chances of multiples. Pam had great luck getting twins and triplets by doing a combination of all these things.

A Simple Cheat for Choosing the Gender of the Baby: For Having a Boy Eat Apples or Eat Watermelons to Have a GirlThe second 'pregnancy cheat'. Before a Sim is visibly pregnant, you should have them eat one of two fruit in order to have the baby be a boy or girl. If you want to have a boy, eat apples. For having a girl baby, eat watermelons. Head to the supermarket and buy the chosen fruit. Buy about ten, that should do the trick. Have your pregnant Sim eat all 10 of them (click the little arrow on the apple icon to queue up individual apples). This is the only way to choose between boy or girl, as there are no console cheats to affect pregnancy.

Being Pregnant in the Sims 3

How to tell if the Sim is PregnantSometimes, but not always, when Sims try for a baby a "Rock-a-Bye-Baby" tune will play. The way you'll know for sure your Sim is pregnant is when she starts running to the toilet with morning sickness. If that's cropped up, the woohoo has definitely made her pregnant. It is during this phase that you should decide: boy or girl?

Visibly and Officially PregnantAfter about a day, your mommy Sim to be will begin wearing maternity clothes. A Sim in the World Renowned Surgeon position of the Medical Career Track can see the gender using the 'Determine Gender of Baby' action at this stage of the pregnancy. If you do this, it will lock the gender in place and cannot be changed. You can use the apples and watermelons up to the day before birth (third trimester) to change the gender of the baby.

Maternity LeaveAt this point the Pregnant Sim will be on Maternity leave, and will get paid for days she's supposed to work. This will give the new mom a relaxed pregnancy and a few days to tend to the baby before getting back into the work routine.

The Third TrimesterWhen your baby's a day away from birth, the mom will be in the third trimester of pregnancy and can't really do much. Focus on keeping her happy to ensure a healthy pregnancy and give baby good traits.

Infant Trait Selection: Keep Mommy Happy!Some people have said that you should read pregnancy books to allow for the baby's trait selection. From my experience it didn't really matter. The baby gets to choose two traits with or without reading them. What does matter is the mother Sim's mood. She needs to keep her needs met, stress down and stay happy (keep that mood bar high). If you fail at this, the baby's trait selection will be out of your hands. The traits you choose will carry on until moving up to the third life stage from toddler to child.

Giving BirthSims prefer to have babies at a hospital. My Sims have had them at home. They just popped up out of nowhere. Other times, it's treated more like an emergency and both parents will want to be at the hospital. At this point, you'll get to name the baby then, if Mom was happy, you'll get to pick the little boy or girl's traits.

For Single Sims: Or How Men Can Steal Child Custody from WomenHere's some help for if your Sim just wants to continue their bloodline, and stay single without moving in any Sims other than a new baby. When two Sims who live separately make a baby, the woman will always have "custody" of the child. So for female Sims, this is no problem. Males will need to convince the female to move in with the baby, then you'll need to take control of the female Sim and make her move out using the cell phone. Wicked Sims might want to make the female do all the work, and move the kid in after it has grown to toddler or childhood phases of life, but you can guarantee good development by taking control.

How to Adopt a Baby, Toddler or Child in The Sims 3: The Adoption Method The second option for having a baby in the Sims 3 is to use the adoption service. Use your Sim's cell phone to 'call for services', and select the Adoption service. A social worker will come to your Sim's house shortly, where you'll be given the option to choose the gender and age of the child you wish to adopt. You do not, however, get to choose the ethnicity of the child or their traits. You never know how the adopted child will start out. However, you can control whether they later get good or bad traits dependent upon how well taken care of they are, and whether they learned to walk and talk before advancing to childhood.

The third option: starting a family with a toddler in Sims 3's Create a Sim This last option for getting a kid in the Sims 3 is to make the child when you start the family in Create-a-Sim mode. You do get to select several traits, and determine the looks of a toddler as well as pick their favorite food and music. Once you've created the first child, or even adult in create a Sim you can make them a twin by clicking the ... next to their portrait. However, starting a game with a child can be very challenging. Early in a game, Sims are usually quite poor and it's harder to advance in careers and skills while caring for the kid. Think you're going to get a promotion the next day at work? Nope. The baby was up all night and your Sim had to go to work in a rotten mood. Planning to go to the gym? Single parents will usually need to shell out $75 simoleons for a baby sitter.

Planned Pregnancy As you can see, the best options for having a baby in the Sims 3 are the first two. You will have control and will be able to decide when the Sims are ready to have the baby. You can even skip the hardest stages of childhood, baby and toddler, by going out and adopting a child. To prepare for the baby, have your Sims work on some skills they know they'll need, save up some money for a crib, high chair and some toys. You may even need to add a room to the house so the kid can have their own room.

I find the best time to have a child is to WooHoo once a Sim has made it to the pinnacle of their career. The work hours are usually very much relaxed compared to lower-ranked jobs, and the salary will provide plenty of money for raising the family. Single Sims will have the hardest time raising a child, while married Sims will have a much easier go at caring for the children.

Related Challenges Baby Boomer II: 50 Days of Extreme Parenting

Raising Kids in the Sims 3
Pregnancy/Adoption	Babies/Toddlers	Children
Teenagers	Birthdays	Bake Sales	Traits by Age

Related Links
Romance	Woohoo	Ghost Babies	Game Tips

Are you sure you want to report it?

Share Tips and FAQs (109)

Our Sims Forum is the place to go for faster answers to questions and discussions about the game. Use the form below to share your own experiences and provide helpful tips to other readers.

SortNewestOldestLikes 1 2 3 > Last candis says...My lesbian couple had a baby once, I think it was a glitch because the both got pregnant and both had boys that looked exactly alike.ReplyFlag1201925th February 2014 3:19pmMeganC says...Something happened that was a little puzzling, but rather hilarious. My brother was playing sims and made his female pregnant. He was really bad at the game, and she was MISERABLE the entire pregnancy. When it came time to have the baby, she had it at home. Instead of spinning around and the baby appearing in her arms like usual, it appeared on the floor in a puddle. It was pretty funny.ReplyFlag611015th September 2013 8:38pmLunatic says...Hey guys,is it possible to get twins boy-girl?if yh,can u plz tell me how?thnxAdmin: Ever since the Pets patch, it's more likely than to get two of the same gender.  Just don't eat apples or watermelons while the mother is pregnant.    For more information, check out the link below to a thread on our forum.http://www.carls-sims-3-guide.com/forum/index.php/topic,3407.0.htmlReplyFlag551015th June 2013 3:24pmIzzy says...Actually, yes. It will turn out randomly, But it does help to get the fertility treatment for both parents.ReplyFlag33174th July 2014 10:14amGillenar says...My sim had triplets and 2 were boys and 1 was a girl. My sim watched about an hour of kidz zone (she is childish and I stopped this as soon as I saw this) and no fertility treatment. Not fun when your sims are poor and you have taxes doubled and set to monday, wednesday and friday.ReplyFlag59117th July 2014 6:01pmLady Jynx Ashling says...if you use the fertility treatment for both parents and use the procreation elxir for both and u will have a very good chance of multiples. I have done both the treatment for both and had both drink the potion and every single time they got pregnant after there were multiples and it worked the same for several new games I started. and most of the time the multiples were different genders in a single pregnancy...i don't know if this helped but for most of the pregnancies i had her eat the exact same amount of apples and watermelons to ensure both genders incase it was multiples and each time it was multiples and dif gender babies...and when i had her just have one fruit type (a bunch of apples or a bunch of watermelons) the multiples came out the same genderso yea if u guys want the same results give it a try :)ReplyFlag19523rd July 2014 5:58amAnna says...If you are poor, then you can do the money cheats, so that you have a bit of money for new stuff, and taxes. type in testingcheatsenabled true and then type motherlode. You should gain 50,000 in money.ReplyFlag182027th October 2015 6:44pmqueenofthemokes23 says...I have had it where the mother was suffering from the Mummy's Curse and she got pregnant and the baby was born with the curse........I have also had quads happen ONCE without cheats.ReplyFlag271125th July 2014 10:20amK says...I've had two pairs of different gender twins. Philip and Sarah. Samantha and Josh (I am not creative). I gave them both fertility treatment, didn't lean towards any fruit and watched and listened to a lot of kids music and tv. Hope this helps!ReplyFlag14625th August 2015 4:18pmIzzy says...I found this awesome kind-of-cheat. Before the sim gets the pregnancy moodlet, you can eat both apples and watermelon as the entire diet. Another way is, if you have the world renowned surgeon, have them determine the gender. If its a boy, eat a ton of watermelon, or if its a girl, eat a ton of apples. It's not always guaranteed, but it does increase the chances.ReplyFlag536th July 2017 1:55pmBrittni says...Hello everyone! so the other day something happened to me in sims that I didn't even know was possible! and I knew I just had to share... My sim married her maid (Grady)and they had three children together, twins and then a boy. however at one of the parties my sim hosted Grady cheated, and my sim caught him! they got a divorce although Grady continued to live in my home, he eventually married the mistress and she also moved in (none of this was my doing I might add). Grady and his new wife ended up becoming pregnant and the same day they had their twins ( a boy and a girl) Grady and his wife brought the babies to my house laid them down in the yard and moved!! So now I have my cheating Ex husbands toddlers living in my house taking care of them and paying for a babysitter while I'm working. Crazy right?!ReplyFlag55722nd November 2015 11:33pmdanica says...i love the simsReplyFlag39137th March 2014 9:31pmBrittney says...Ok hey everyone! I'm getting ultra frustrated! I have all the expansion packs and no mods.I have this family where the husband and wife are both werewolves and I built them this huge house with the intent on having them have twins or triplets and to fill the house! Both of them have the fertility treatment ltrThe first pregnancy I had both of them drink the procreation elixer and then I had them try for baby and they read pregnancy books and only had one daughter. Second pregnancyAgain procreation elixer and pregnancy books but this time she read the books and listened to kids music and watched kids tv for the entire pregnancy! She only left the room twice to throw up! And again she only had one daughter!!! I want multiples!!!!ReplyFlag181117th October 2013 12:57pmJulia says...My sim had triplet girls after having twins! I got the Fertility Treatment for both parents and had them try for a baby. Then I had the mom eat a lot of watermelons during her pregnancy, watch the Kidz Zone and listen to children's music all while reading a book on pregnancy.The thing I find weird is that one of my daughters, Makenzie, got 'thinner' while she was still a toddler. The game said she worked out very hard and was able to lose weight.... how can that happen to a toddler?Admin: It's a glitch with the memory system. The game is registering that your toddler inherited one of it's parents body types and of course that makes it a memory. I've had infants and toddlers suddenly become stronger, too.ReplyFlag1643rd June 2013 7:01amKat says...Hi and I wanted to know if anyone could tell me how to decide if you want to have a boy or a girl??Admin: When your Sim is pregnant - eat apples for boys and eat watermelons for girls. Boys have stems like apples.ReplyFlag16518th July 2013 5:22pmMandi says...If you're rather impatient and don't want to waste time continuisly trying the woohoo method until your Sim starts to throw up, there is another way to find out if your Sim is pregnant that works if you have University. Directly after woohooing, have the female Sim look for the "Enroll in University" option on her phone or computer. If it's greyed out, you can mouse over it, and it'll say something about your Sim not being able to go since she's pregnant.ReplyFlag1214th June 2014 10:23pmDaisu says...There’s chime music when they fall pregnant.ReplyFlag4026th January 2021 9:06amyoyoyobro says...My sim has five kids, and one of those huge houses with four floors. and it's saying I can't have anymore kids?Admin: Sims are limited by the amount of Sims you can have in a household, not the house size. There is a limit of eight active Sims (without mods) so if you have eight people in your house, including roommates then that is all you can have. If you have the Pets expansion, pets also take up household slots. With pets, you can only have a max of ten Sims in the household So if you have 1 Sim with 5 kids and 4 dogs then you would not be able to add any one else.ReplyFlag1262nd June 2013 5:01pmHaruNaeil says...Are we able to split up the household? I have 8 sim's in one home, but I see no way of giving each couple their own place. 4 girls and 4 boys. I have empty homes set up for them but when I try to move, EVERYONE moves.ReplyFlag10326th June 2014 4:59pmMacy says...You need to sell the houses and then have the sims you'd like to move repurchase the house that you don't own.ReplyFlag81327th June 2014 2:20pmPlayalot says...Guide to moving here: http://www.carls-sims-3-guide.com/info/how-to-move.phpReplyFlag4122nd July 2017 9:32pmMe says...How can you choose a baby's favourite colour??Admin: You can't.  It's randomized but when they get older there is a LTR that allows you to change all the favorites.  Or you can use the Edit in CAS cheat when they are a toddler.ReplyFlag12326th June 2013 2:58amRocky says...Getting sims 3 tomorrow any ideas on which oneReplyFlag12198th May 2013 8:52amAllySimmer says...You have to get the base game first for any of the expansions/stuffs will work.ReplyFlag18829th June 2014 5:55pmAbi says...Get sims 3 starter pack, it is the normal sims three, I got confused when buying too ReplyFlag8416th August 2015 1:27pmHi says...I just had an adorable baby boy. And now I want a girl but no matter how much I try I can't get her pregnant again. And yes I use the try for baby option but I have tried this a lot like for 3 sim days straight and nothing. Is there a glitch or something because I really want another kid.ReplyFlag10821st April 2014 10:32pmSimmylala says...When your Sim finds out she is pregnant, eat 10 watermelons from your garden or the supermarket.For twins, watch the Kidz Zone on TV while pregnant up to 1 Sim hours, or buy the Fertility Treatment Lifetime Rewards, which increases your chances of triplets.Note: when buying the Fertility Treatment Lifetime Reward, buy it BEFORE your Sim Tries for a Baby, otherwise it doesn't work. Hopefully this helped :)ReplyFlag14715th July 2014 1:33amSimmylala says...It helps to Try for a Baby until you hear a jingle, or you could buy the Fertility Treatment before you Try for a Baby, and it helps to have Sims with a Family-Oriented trait, and you could be pregnant on the first go!ReplyFlag8616th July 2014 7:07amLady Jynx Ashling says...use the fertility treatment and the procreation elxir for both parents then try that should do the trick:) ..thou there will b a good chance of multiples too...ReplyFlag12523rd July 2014 6:02amSierra says...I try "woohoo" and "try for a baby" and nothing works. I called the social worker for adoption but she never came! I need help. Can anyone help me?ReplyFlag904th October 2015 1:09pmAlexandra says...Another good way to tell if your Sim is pregnant when you don't hear the chimes--If you have the University expansion, see if she can Enroll in University. If she's pregnant, that choice be grayed out with the explanation "Sim is pregnant." Pregnant Sims can't enroll.ReplyFlag6022nd November 2015 4:33pmImogen says...Can you kick children out of your household without sending them to boarding school?ReplyFlag634th October 2015 5:50amPlayalot says...No children must live with an adult.ReplyFlag2022nd July 2017 9:36pmBrittney says...Ok hey everyone! I'm getting ultra frustrated! I have all the expansion packs and no mods.I have this family where the husband and wife are both werewolves and I built them this huge house with the intent on having them have twins or triplets and to fill the house! Both of them have the fertility treatment ltrThe first pregnancy I had both of them drink the procreation elixer and then I had them try for baby and they read pregnancy books and only had one daughter. Second pregnancyAgain procreation elixer and pregnancy books but this time she read the books and listened to kids music and watched kids tv for the entire pregnancy! She only left the room twice to throw up! And again she only had one daughter!!! I want multiples!!!!ReplyFlag5317th October 2013 12:40pmClaire says...One way you can get around this is to use the apples/watermelons trick. If you want two or three girls, then have your sim eat the desired amount of watermelons - and the same goes for the boys. I'm not sure if you can eat one of each and get one of each but you can try. Hope that helps!ReplyFlag321st July 2014 11:17amLady Jynx Ashling says...have her eat a bunch of watermelons AND apples all at once the exact same amount...my sims did and had at least 1 boy and 1 girl more often then not 2 boys and a girl or 2 girls and a boy this worked for several games and pregnancies with the fertility treatment for both the the procreation elxir for bothReplyFlag5223rd July 2014 6:06amMystery says...TO brittney,You don't have to do all that stuff...just have the fertility treatment and keep the mother's mood high(Elated)..i do these and I got twins or triplets evertime my Sim is pregnant...But remember..more babies more TROUBLE!!!!..Also how do you get QUADRUPLETS???ReplyFlag1224th September 2015 7:23amIzzy says...For quadruplets, both parents have to have fertility treatment and have both parents watch the kids show.ReplyFlag206th July 2017 2:01pmRon says...What about adopting sims that already live with you? I made the mistake of not making the adults the parents. So the kids are basically orphans that live with the adult sims. Is there some sort of cheat to fix this? I already settled down and moved into the houseReplyFlag5020th August 2014 8:45ammariah says...I have a sim who decided to adopt but was really lazy and didnt want to take care of it so my sim took care of the baby and the baby still hasnt grown into toddler yet and it is like the fourth day is it cuz the mother isnt taking care of nor has seen the child?Admin: It all depends on what your life stage settings are. If you have aging off or you're on epic lifespan, then it will take several days for them to age up. When in game, check the settings under Options. Or buy a birthday cake and age them up manually.ReplyFlag5230th June 2013 6:43pmSimmylala says...Is there are cheat to make a Sim pregnant without Trying for a Baby with another Sim? If so, please tell me!ReplyFlag3115th July 2014 1:27amShay Reese says...Hey how do I get pengent on the sims 3 help me please with this and I will help you okayAdmin: Heheh. The answers to that should be here on the site. Overall, you need to Try for Baby with a Sim once you have done repeated Romantic Interactions with them. You need to get them in the mood, so to speak. Married/Committed Sims can Woohoo without the necessary buildup in relationship that other Sims require.ReplyFlag3111th June 2014 6:28pmJailene says...Ok.. so I now this may not be a problem for everyone but I think its a glitch. My sim has had a baby boy already and I want her to have a girl. I have her eat 20 WATERMELONS but I end up having a boy! Any suggestions? :(ReplyFlag3314th July 2014 8:26pmIzzy says...Make sure you eat the watermelons before your sim has the pregnancy moodlet. For me, though, I have the sim's entire diet be watermelon from when she tries for the baby to when she gives birth. That pretty much guarantees it being a female.ReplyFlag116th July 2017 1:52pmSydney says...my sim literally ate 5 watermelons and she still had a boy so wtf??ReplyFlag3325th August 2015 2:46pmAddie says...I think you need to eat 10??ReplyFlag217th September 2018 11:14pmAshley says...I cant get any of the cheats to work other than motherlode. I have tried everything, including testingcheatsenabledtrue and it said it was unknown. Can someone please help me. I also have been trying to get her pregnant and she wont. I have tried this with different sims and none of them will get pregnant.ReplyFlag285th December 2013 1:12amKai says...Try a space between testingcheatsenabled true. The space is needed because you can put true or false after testingcheatsenabled to switch cheats on or off. After this, I suggest using FamilyFunds [familyname] [amount of money you want] instead of motherload. For example, I can type in FamilyFunds Smith 1000000 and I'll get 1000000 simoleons. It's a lot quicker and easier than motherload.ReplyFlag2319th June 2014 11:47amStephanie says...It's actually testingcheatsenabled true with the space. Maybe that's the problemReplyFlag511st July 2014 9:27pmjessy says...HI guys, I know this has nothing to do with this. but my baby sims are glitching and I've uninstall most my cc (custom content) But it wont do anything. The girl babies are either invisible, or a long skin coloured pole. The boys are normal, but have one black half and one normal. PLEASE HELP! I'M SO UPSET WITH THIS..ReplyFlag2218th March 2014 5:59am 1 2 3 > Last Page 1 of 3

Join In

[cancel] Name: Email: Share: Remember my name and email for future contributions. Jump to Top Disclaimer: - This site is not endorsed by or affiliated with Electronic Arts, or its licensors. Trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The Sims and The Sims 3 Logo are trademarks of Electronic Arts, Inc. Game content and materials copyright Electronic Arts Inc. and its licensors. All Rights Reserved. All original material on this site © Carl's Guides.