TS3 - Anyone see a child skill building hack?

[Zouflain]

I find myself skipping the child state almost completely - once they have enough school for a trait, I birthday cake them for teens.  The child stage is almost devoid of content, because you can't use it to skill build almost all of the skills.  While I can understand children not being able to strength train, cardio isn't taxing in the same way and is in fact encouraged for kids.  Charisma is also a skill children can have, as they do interact with each other on a regular basis, and particularly precocious children can actually manipulate adults.  Has anyone spotted/developed more toys (for children and/or toddlers) that add to more than just logic and the creativity derivatives, or a hack that at least allows children to read all of the books?  I miss the bunny-face toy and child-oven from TS2, and all the toys Bon Voyage brought with it.  Note, though, that I'm not looking a "free/fast skills" hack or anything like it, but just some way to make the child stage more useful than a boring chore.

[JacquiES]

I will say that I think that the game takes some of the skilling into account.  I had a boy age up to teen and he was overweight.  My game crashed shortly after and I hadn't saved, so when I loaded the game back up he was a kid again. This time I had him exercise instead of video games or tv and he grew up into a slim body weight.  Unless that is decided randomly, I think there is something there that we just don't see.

[Faizah]

The child-oven is in TS3, and I think they do gain cooking from it.

[Sleepycat]

The child-oven is in TS3, and I think they do gain cooking from it.

yes, they can.


I use the child age for them to work on the skills they can work on, like fishing, painting, logic, cooking ...can't remember about writing. There is a farmer book that I think helps them start their gardening skill.   heh, children can actually learn quite a bit even though there is a cap on how much they can learn some skills.

[Katze]

They can also gain the writing skill from the computer.

[Motoki]

There's a mod at Modthesims that lets them use the mirror

http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=349813

[witch]

There's a mod at Modthesims that lets them use the mirror

http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=349813

My god, the sims 3 is raising people from the dead. G'day Motoki!

[Motoki]

I swore I wouldn't get sucked in yet alas....

Hi Witch! Long time no see! 

[Mandapotpie]

Children can gain other skills like guitar and gardening etc. You just need an adult with enough logic points to "tutor" them in the skill. And then the adults need some points in whatever skill they are tutoring. I don't see it mentioned in this thread although it is mentioned elsewhere in the forum, but the block table builds handiness skill for children as well.

[Motoki]

Children can gain other skills like guitar and gardening etc. You just need an adult with enough logic points to "tutor" them in the skill. And then the adults need some points in whatever skill they are tutoring. I don't see it mentioned in this thread although it is mentioned elsewhere in the forum, but the block table builds handiness skill for children as well.

Have you found any way to change a kid's bodyshape at all? I adopted a fat kid and no amount of working out to the tv set, tag, or swimming did anything to his body shape. I also have a fit sim who can train adults but he didn't have the option for the kid. I guess they are just set at whatever shape they are until adulthood, or so it seems.

[Zouflain]

Have you found any way to change a kid's bodyshape at all? I adopted a fat kid and no amount of working out to the tv set, tag, or swimming did anything to his body shape. I also have a fit sim who can train adults but he didn't have the option for the kid. I guess they are just set at whatever shape they are until adulthood, or so it seems.

Again, I can understand a ban on strength training because of developing muscles and so on, but cardio should effect body skill and body type even for children.  There is definitely a difference between children who run around and children who sit and eat all day, and kids certainly have different levels of endurance, so it makes since for cardio to have an effect.  Thinking about more, though, even the developing muscle argument is fairly weak - after all, how old do gymnasts start?  They certainly aren't 12's beforehand, as some of the professionals are as young as 14, and it takes more than 2 years to learn.

The block table builds handiness?  And I overlooked this (or is it simply not marked as such)??

[Roflganger]

There are a few things that aren't marked as skill building, such as almost all of the children's books.  Off the top of my head, kids can develop writing, logic, and art skills by reading the toddler books, but you don't really discover it until they start skill building as children or higher.  For example, when a child that read the appropriate (or appropriate number of?) books as a toddler merely clicks on a computer, their writing skill jumps to level 3 or 4 instantaneously, with a message that it's a result of their toddler reading habits.  Logic goes to level 4 instead of the level 3 that can be reached through the peg box.  All the books in the Children section of the bookstore with the exception of the Jimmy Sprocket books appear to carry some sort of skill building benefit.

[J. M. Pescado]

Again, I can understand a ban on strength training because of developing muscles and so on, but cardio should effect body skill and body type even for children.

...isn't the entire point of strength training *TO* develop muscles, so that you will be an effective warrior and not a flabby weakling? Mostly, the issue is that kids simply lack equipment and animations to use the equipment. It's not based on anything with real-world sense. It's purely a technical limitation.

[Budcot]

There's a strength training workout on the televisions, it requires no equipment so surely they could have given those animations to the children?

[Zouflain]

They have a workout animation for the T.V., but for some odd reason EAxis decided that though children can work out, they can't benefit in any way from it...

[J. M. Pescado]

They have a workout animation for the T.V., but for some odd reason EAxis decided that though children can work out, they can't benefit in any way from it...

I'll put it on the list of things to do and get someone looking into that.

[Mandapotpie]

The block table builds handiness?  And I overlooked this (or is it simply not marked as such)??

Yep but not for toddlers just children. The pop up says something about how children that play with blocks grow up to be quite handy or something similar.

I only found out about the tutoring recently but now my kid has 4 gardening.