Aside from all of the skills that you know about (like Cooking), there are dozens of “hidden skills” in The Sims 2. A lot of clever people have dug into the code base for the game, and discussed these hidden skills online. One clever person even created an in-game object that you can use to see some of your Sims’ hidden skills! The usual caveat regarding cheats and custom content applies (to wit: back up your files early and often.)

One hidden skill which I haven’t found discussed is parenting behavior. I started thinking about this issue when I watched my newest Sim, Makoto, display parenting behaviors that I have never seen before. This particularly surprised me because Makoto is a Romance Sim, and Romance Sims aren’t usually known for their excellent parenting abilities.

Makoto is really good about feeding the baby. In fact, he is a little too good. Their kitchen is littered with discarded bottles, because he insists on spontaneously feeding the baby a bottle about once an hour. (As far as I know, babies need only two or three bottles per day. Certainly twelve bottles a day is a waste!)

If Makoto has to relinquish the baby, he never puts it on the floor. In fact, he will go to great lengths to hand it to another Sim, instead of putting it back in the baby bed. When I was playing yesterday, I noticed that he held the baby until his Bladder need went red. Instead of setting the baby down, or putting it in the nearby crib, he ran outside and all the way around the house to hand the baby to the nearest adult. He then ran all the way back to the bathroom to relieve himself - and it was a close call, indeed!

Here is a partial list of parenting behavior - good, bad, and mediocre - which I have seen:

BAD PARENT

* Doesn’t wake up if the baby starts crying in another room. If the baby’s crib is in the same room, a bad parent will wake up when the baby cries, but will be very grouchy about it.

* Always sets the baby down on the floor.

* Cancels your baby-related actions (i.e. change the baby, feed the baby) out of their action queue. Always has to be told to provide the most basic level of care.

* Refuses to bathe the baby, no matter how many times you tell them to do so.

* Never spontaneously holds the baby. Once they’re done doing the action you assigned them, sets the baby down on the floor and walks away.

MEDIOCRE PARENT

* Wakes up when the baby cries, even if it’s in a different room.

* Usually puts the baby back in the crib. Rarely sets the baby down on the floor.

* Spontaneously cares for baby. Occasionally has to be told to provide basic parenting services.

* Always bathes the baby when you tell them to do so.

* Holds baby for 30-60 Sim minutes before getting bored and putting it down.

EXCELLENT PARENT

* Wakes up at random to care for baby, even when it doesn’t cry.

* Never puts the baby on the floor. Hands baby to the nearest adult Sim, or puts it in the crib.

* Occasionally has to be told to STOP providing care.

* Spontaneously bathes the baby.

* Is always holding baby, until extreme personal need (i.e. Hunger or Bladder) intervenes.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 11:28 PM and is filed under Sims. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.