Infants are a new addition to The Sims 4, the stage in a Sim’s life between a newborn and toddler. There’s no doubt that infants are adorable and watching them develop and interact is rewarding. However, infants can also be a lot of work. The new infant life stage is probably the most demanding and challenging. They will need to rely on other Sims to have their Needs met, as well as work on their development. Infants can be difficult to manage, particularly if you’re new to them, but they don’t have to be. With close monitoring and organization, you can raise well-cared-for infants who will grow up to be happy Sims, preparing them not just for their toddler years, but the rest of their lives.
This is truer still if you have the Growing Together Expansion Pack installed, where you’ll have to earn Milestones exclusive to infants in order to unlock new interactions and set your infant on the path to independence.
This guide will tell you everything you need to know about infants and how to care for them. You’ll also find out how to raise happy infants and get all the Milestones you can. Note that some parts of this guide will only apply if you have Growing Together, and will be stated as such.
Infants are available for free in the base game of The Sims 4. The Growing Together Expansion is available for all platforms, including PC, Mac, Xbox consoles and PlayStation consoles.
Infants, the Newest Life Stage
Infants are a brand new life stage in The Sims 4. They arrived in a free base game update on March 14, 2023. The infant update came two days before the release of Growing Together, which added further gameplay for infants. This significant update also applied to babies; they are now referred to as newborns, with their life stage shortened to just a day or so and adding some gameplay improvements.
This is the second time a whole new life stage has been introduced to The Sims 4, after toddlers were added into the game in 2017. Before then, babies aged right up into children. These two separate updates filled the big gap between babies and children, creating a more realistic transition between the ages.
Infants are new not just to The Sims 4, but are a first for The Sims franchise.
The Difference Between Newborns, Infants and Toddlers
These three stages are similar to each other, that being Sims at these ages are more dependent on other Sims caring for them, and not being old enough to go to school or such. However, there are a few differences between them:
- Infants are more dependent than toddlers, particularly with Growing Together. They’ll need to achieve Milestones to unlock things such as eating in the high chair, crawling around, and the Fun Need.
- The default length of an infant’s stage is 5 days. In comparison, newborns have just one day, while toddlers don’t age up for 7 days.
- Infants sleep in a crib, as opposed to a bed like a toddler, and cannot get out unaided.
- Infants are similar to newborns in that they can still be breastfed and bottlefed, and they can only go to the toilet in their diaper. They cannot be potty trained like toddlers. However, they can eat in the high chair, but only if the Sit Up Milestone has been achieved (Growing Together).
- Unlike newborns, you can view an infant’s Needs. They are also more independent in that they are not tied to a bassinet or their crib.
- Since they cannot walk, infants will have to be carried by a Sim to get around. They can crawl though (although this has to be taught with Growing Together).
The most significant thing about infants is that they’re not constrained to a bassinet like babies, nor do you have to guess their Needs, but they are dependent on older Sims and their development is important for the rest of their life. That’s why it’s important to care for them properly.
Infants are the life stage that comes after newborns.
The Consequences of Not Properly Caring for an Infant
There are consequences for not taking care of a Sim at any age, young or old. It’s no different with infants. It’s very important that you don’t neglect any infant. They might be hard work, demanding at times, and require a lot of attention, but it’s important to give them the care they need. Failure to properly look after them can have negative consequences. Like with other young Sims, let their Hunger Need hit rock bottom and they’ll be taken away by the social worker. Not keeping on top of their Needs, no matter how critically important, can make an infant very unhappy, creating problems not just at the time, but later in their life. If you have Growing Together, failing to hit as many Milestones as possible has your infant missing out.
Infants need to be properly cared for if you want them to grow up happy.
How to Get an Infant
There are a few ways to get an infant in The Sims 4. The method you choose is entirely up to you.
The first is through the Try for a Baby interaction and getting a Sim pregnant. The Sim will eventually give birth to a newborn. Depending on the set lifespan length, they will soon age up into an infant, whether automatically or with the Age Up interaction.
If you don’t want your Sim to go through a pregnancy, you can adopt an infant via a phone or computer. They will appear on the adoption list alongside newborns, toddlers and children. You can see if they’re an infant by hovering over their profile. Adopting infants costs §1,000, the same as adopting other young Sims.
Thanks to the same update as the infants patch, there’s a new way to get a baby. You can have a science baby! This is a very simple process. The Have a Science Baby option is available through the phone or computer. You select the Sim in the household you want to have the baby, then you can create the baby solo or with another Sim. They will then go off lot and come back with their new baby. You can then age them up into an infant. The Science Baby option is slightly more expensive than adoption, costing §1,200.
Newborns age up into infants after a short amount of time.
Infant Traits
Infants may be very young, but they can still have a personality. Infants can have one of six unique traits exclusive to their stage. These are:
- Calm
- Cautious
- Intense
- Sensitive
- Sunny
- Wiggly
How an infant interacts and behaves can be affected by their trait.
The range of traits available may be less than toddlers and older life stages, and only one can be assigned, but the trait an infant has can have a big impact. It can affect how they behave and interact, how they react to Sims and the world. When presented with the option to choose a trait, you should pick wisely. Unless you use cheats, you’ll be stuck with the chosen trait. Here’s a quick breakdown of each trait so you know exactly what to expect:
- Calm: Infants will become less angry and are unlikely to cry. They also don’t get as tired of activities as other infants. However, they are less likely to explore the world on their own, although they will like to watch it.
- Cautious: These infants like familiar things, such as the same food and Sims, but are more wary of accepting new food, Sims and locations.
- Intense: Infants with this trait have big emotions and are more easily entertained. However, when in a bad mood, it’s harder to get them out of it.
- Sensitive: Sensitive infants are more likely to get a diaper rash, are pickier with food, and are more likely to get overstimulated with too much play and socialization. They do have the benefit of sleeping more soundly at night though when soothed.
- Sunny: These infants love to smile, giggle and be sociable, which is great for achieving certain Milestones. However, they do need more attention socially.
- Wiggly: Wiggly infants love to be on the go, moving about and playing. They will struggle to focus on activities though, and find it harder to settle down to sleep.
Toddler Bonus Traits When Aging Up
Infants don’t stay infants forever, eventually growing up into toddlers. Depending on how well (or not) you cared for your infant, they can get one of three bonus traits when they age up into a toddler. These traits can affect how your Sims react to the world and interact with others, either positive or negative. This only applies if you have Growing Together:
- Top-Notch Infant: You’ve done an excellent job raising an infant, getting many Milestones, taking care of their Needs, and making them happy. You get rewarded with this bonus trait.
- Happy Infant: You’ve done a pretty good job with an infant, generally taking good care of them and achieving some Milestones. This is the trait you’ll get as a result.
- Unhappy Infant: A toddler with this trait has not had a happy time as an infant, generally being neglected and not achieving anything.
Raise your infant well and they’ll get rewarded when they age up to a toddler.
How to Age Up Infants
To age a newborn up into an infant, select the bassinet they’re in, go into Baby Care, and then select Age Up. Newborns will automatically age up into an infant after about an in-game day (if the Normal lifespan is set).
If you want to age up an infant to a toddler, it’s the same process as newborns. As another Sim, select the infant, go into Baby Care, and then select Age Up. You can also age them up using a birthday cake.
Infant Needs
All Sims have Needs, infants included. Fulfilling Needs for infants is pretty simple, however, they are pretty dependable on their caregivers taking care of their Needs. They cannot feed themselves or put themselves to bed. Infants have 6 Needs: Hunger, Energy, Bladder, Hygiene, and Social. There’s Fun too, but you have to unlock this through Milestones (only applies with Growing Together installed).
Hunger
Hunger is the most important Need, Energy coming second. It’s the most important for all Sims, not just infants. Sims older than children will die if their Hunger reaches zero. If the Hunger meter of children or younger gets to rock bottom, the social worker will whisk them away, so don’t let your infant starve! Don’t even let the Hunger meter go into the red danger zone. If you notice an infant’s Hunger dipping into the yellow, think about getting them fed soon. If it’s orange, stop whatever you are doing and get them something immediately. Even if it’s a quick bottle or breastfeed, keeping the Hunger meter in the green is highly important.
In a hurry? The bottle or breast feeding is the quickest option for feeding an infant.
To start with, you only have two options when feeding an infant: bottle feeding or breast feeding. The breast feeding option depends whether your Sim can produce breast milk, based on your settings. These options are a quick and easy way of filling up that Hunger meter. However, infants don’t have to be restricted to the bottle or breastmilk. If they’ve achieved the Sit Up Milestone, they can be placed in a high chair and eat mashed up baby food. They’ll have to try it out first, to see if they like it or not. Infants can love or hate new food. Sometimes they’ll be undecided, so you’ll have to serve it to them again for them to make their mind up. Find out what your infant likes and feed them their favorite food to keep them happy.
If you’ve also unlocked the Pincer Grasp Milestone, infants can eat finger food. The main difference with this is that they’ll eat independently in their high chair without help from another Sim.
Infants will have different preferences when it comes to food. Some infants can be very picky!
Energy
Your Sims need Energy to function. They can’t do much with low Energy. Without rest and sleep, they’ll eventually collapse and fall asleep wherever they are. This includes infants. Energy has a big impact on your Sim’s performance, and their happiness. The same especially goes for infants. They don’t like being tired. Even the calmest sweetest infant has their breaking point. Low Energy is bad for infants because they’ll fuss more and won’t be in the mood to do anything, including achieving important Milestones for development.
An infant’s durability in Energy is pretty decent, so they can achieve quite a lot before they get sleepy. However, if they are awake for long enough, they’ll become Sad and irritable and will want a nap. They can doze off on the playmat for a nap, but the best place for any infant to sleep is the crib.
It’s important to get your infant settled and happy so they can comfortably drift off and stay asleep. You’ll most likely find that your infant kicks up a fuss when they are first placed in their crib. They won’t instantly want to go to sleep, even if their Energy is very low. Fortunately, you have a few options to help them get to sleep. You can soothe them, kiss them goodnight, or tell them a story. Any of these options should do the trick.
There’s another way to help your infant get settled to sleep. For §100, you can install a mobile. These don’t come with any crib; you have to add these as an upgrade. They don’t take very long at all to put in, so if you’ve got the cash, do so. You also don’t need any experience in the Handiness skill for this particular upgrade.
Here’s another useful tip. You can convert certain cribs into a toddler bed by upgrading them. It costs §50. You can also do the reverse and convert a toddler bed into a crib, for the same price. Unlike the mobile upgrade though, you’ll need Level 2 Handiness to be able to convert a toddler bed or crib.
Got level 2 Handiness? Add a mobile to your infant’s crib.
Bladder
Infants cannot be potty trained. They’re too young for that. They can’t learn to go potty until they age up into toddlers. So, what are infants meant to do then when nature calls? Unfortunately, all they can do is relieve themselves in their diaper. This will send the Bladder meter back to full, but with a stinky diaper on hand, you’ll want to get your infant into a clean diaper. Caregivers can whip their infant into a new diaper in a heartbeat. Don’t forget to throw away the dirty diaper that gets tossed onto the floor.
The best way to change a diaper is with the changing table. This is only available if you have Growing Together installed; the changing table is not a base game object. The changing table is a great place to change a diaper, particularly if you have a diaper bin directly next to it. The dirty diaper will automatically be disposed of in the bin, as opposed to the floor.
The changing table is the best and cleanest way of sorting out your infant’s dirty diaper.
Social
Even the shyest and socially wariest infant craves social attention. Infants don’t like being left alone for too long. They can grow to be independent over time, but they’ll always need interaction with other Sims. The Social Need is one of those that you don’t want dipping into the red, but to be honest, this is unlikely to happen, unless you seriously neglect your infants. You’ll find that their Social Need stays pretty much in the green, since you’ll be spending time with them anyway as you feed them, bathe them, change their diaper, put them to bed, and work on their Milestones. If their Social Need does happen to be getting low but their other Needs are fine, spend some time with them. Play with them, talk to them, read them a story; anything to keep their Social Need in the green.
Infants love attention, so don’t neglect them.
Hygiene
You can’t expect infants to be squeaky clean, especially after they soil their diaper. Hygiene isn’t often an issue, but will eventually require your attention. The bathtub is the best option. They also get the First Bath and First Bubble Bath Milestones this way.
A clean infant is a happy infant.
Fun
The Fun Need has been left until last because whether you have this depends on Growing Together. With the Expansion installed, you can only get the Fun Need once an infant has achieved the Sit Up Milestone. Otherwise, this Need is available to infants from the get-go.
Infants need Fun, and they’ll get bored, so you need to find a way to entertain them. Sims can play with them to keep them happy, but there are also toys that infants can play with. The Playmat, if you have Growing Together, is an absolute must. This is needed for infant development, achieving Milestones, plus satisfying the Fun Need, so make getting a Playmat a priority when you have an infant. Other toys they can play with are toddler blocks, giant stuffed toys, toyboxes, and infant toys. Note that with Growing Together, they’ll need to work on their Milestones so they can reach, sit up and crawl about to get to and play with these toys. Generally, entertaining an infant isn’t too hard.
There are lots of toys for infants to play with, such as the playmat.
Essential Items for Infants
There are a number of items specifically tailored to infants to help care for them, including some new items. Having these are important for taking care of your infant’s basic needs. You don’t have to worry about splashing lots of cash on infants and their items, as they don’t have to be expensive.
- Crib: The best place for an infant to sleep is in a crib. They can sleep on the floor, but it’s not the most comfortable place, and they’re more likely to sleep well in a crib. They might kick up a fuss when you first put them in, but they can be quickly soothed. Plus, you can add a mobile to help get them to sleep. There’s a special crib that you can buy which you can put in your inventory and take with your wherever you go, whether you’re going to the gym, visiting a Sim for a date, or going on vacation. Infants will quickly get tired, and you don’t want to head home just because your infant’s Energy is dropping into the red, so plonk down a crib in a quiet spot and get your infant settled so you can go off and do whatever you need to while they catch up on some sleep. This also saves you having to call a nanny in to take care of them while you’re away, and you can keep an eye on them yourself.
- Changing Table: This only applies if you have Growing Together, but the changing table is great to have if you have an infant. It’s the best place to change their dirty diaper. Attach a bin to the changing table as well so you put the dirty diaper into the bin instead of onto the floor. You can also change their outfit or plan their outfit with the table.
- Playmat: Again, this is a Growing Together addition, but if you have the playmat available, use it! It’s a truly great object for infants to have, as well as for their caregivers. They can develop their reaching and interacting skills, unlocking Milestones, and they can even choose to have a snooze if they want to catch some shut-eye. Sims can play with them if they’re placed on the mat as well.
- High Chair: With Growing Together, infants can’t use the high chair until they’ve learned to Sit Up, but once they do, get them into the high chair so they can start eating some mashed up food.
- Toys: Once infants start developing more with Milestones, you’ll be needing some toys to keep them entertained. You don’t need to get every single toy out there, but get some infant toys for them to play with while their caregivers are busy elsewhere.
-
- Playmat.
-
- High chair.
-
- Crib.
-
- The changing table.
Infant Milestones
If you have Growing Together, you’ll probably know all about Milestones. These are key for an infant’s development. Without Milestones, infants cannot unlock new interactions that allows them to be more independent. Infants have quite a number of exclusive Milestones. For your convenience, a list has been put together of all the Infant Milestones and how to achieve them. Some have to be unlocked in a certain order before you can achieve the next.
If you’re concerned that you won’t have enough time to teach your infant all the Milestones, consider setting their lifespan to Long. The normal length is 5 days, which may not seem enough for everything they need to learn. The Long lifespan gives you about 20 days. It’ll take a long time to learn everything, and your caregivers have their own lives to deal with; their Needs, work, etc. If you’re planning to maximize your infant’s development, you should definitely think about doing this.
Every time an infant achieves a Milestone, the infant will glow, plus you’ll hear a musical jingle and get a notification (useful if you miss the moment). It will be marked under Milestones in the Simology panel. If there is another Milestone to achieve, it’ll appear next to the newly-learned Milestone.
Learned Milestones are accompanied with a colorful icon and a message on the achievement. Milestones yet-to-be-achieved are greyed out, and if you hover over it, it’ll tell you how to unlock it.
A number of Milestones achieved by an infant overtime.
Fine Motor
There are two types of Motor Milestones with infants: Fine Motor and Gross Motor. Gross Motor is all about an infant moving their body about. Fine Motor focuses more on the development of their arms and hands (and their toe). These Motor Milestones will lead to your infant learning to grab stuff, which is needed for playing with toys and eating finger food.
As a bonus, if you do really well teaching your infant these particular Milestones, they’ll get a head start on their Thinking Skill when they eventually age up into a toddler.
The playmat will help infants with the Fine Motor Milestones.
Learned to Reach: You’ll find that as your Sims interact with their infants and infants play on the playmat, they’ll eventually attempt to reach out with their little hands. This is something that seems to happen out of the blue (at least for me), so keep playing and interacting with your infant and they’ll eventually get this first Milestone in the Fine Motor category.
Learned to Grab: Once your infant has mastered reaching, the next step is to actually grab something. Get them onto that playmat and have them playing with the toys. They’ll eventually get it.
Put Toe in Mouth: This Milestone happened rather randomly for me. An infant was on the floor, just minding their own business, and suddenly they popped their toe into their mouth! Playing on the playmat will eventually lead to a moment such as this, adding another Milestone to your infant’s collection.
Learned Pincer Grasp: At first, infants couldn’t even reach. Now, they can actually grab and hold stuff. That’s what this Milestone is about. To get this one (eventually), keep feeding your infant in the high chair. They’ll eventually want to pick up the spoon and put the food in their mouth themselves. This is an important landmark for an infant because they’ll now be able to try finger foods, which means they can be served food and be left alone, allowing your Sim to go off and do other things for a bit. To get this Milestone, it’s important to use the high chair to feed your infant, as opposed to the bottle or breastfeeding. While those are technically quicker and simpler, you’ll miss out on this Milestone.
Learned to Wave: Learning to wave and clap are similar Milestones, but are marked separately. However, achieving them works the same. Just keep interacting with your infant and eventually they’ll get this Milestone.
Learned to Clap: Just as with learning to wave, keep interacting with your infant, whether through attending to Needs or playtime, and they’ll learn to clap.
This Milestone, Toe in Mouth, is so cute!
Firsts
All Sims can get firsts, not just infants, but infants are the first life stage to get Firsts Milestones, including:
First Visitor: A First Visitor is important to an infant because this will be the first time they meet a Sim who is not of their family or their household. Have your infant interact with any stranger visiting their household to get this Milestone.
First Bath: Ah! There’s nothing like that first bath (unless you hate them). Infants normally enjoy baths though, and this Milestone marks their very first one.
First Bubble Bath: What’s better than a bath? A bath with bubbles! This Milestone is so special there’s a separate one just for the first time an infant has a bath with bubbles.
First Baby Food: It’s a momentous occasion when an infant has finally learned to Sit Up, meaning they can use the high chair at last to eat food. The first time you feed an infant with any baby food, they’ll get this Milestone.
First Finger Food: Overtime, your infant will progress from feeding from a bottle or breast, to mashed up baby food in a high chair, and eventually eating finger food independently in the chair. You can serve finger food to an infant once they have the Learned Pincer Grasp and Learned to Sit Up Milestones.
Slept Through the Night: There’s nothing more peaceful than a sleeping infant, especially if they sleep all through the night. Technically, this doesn’t have to be done at night, but if your infant stays asleep without any disturbance or waking up for several hours, they’ll get this Milestone. Also, they’ll wake up in a happy mood too, instead of being sad or angry.
First Diaper Blowout: One word: eww! Diaper blowouts are gross, there’s no other way of putting it. If your Sim is unfortunate enough to be holding an infant while they go potty in their diaper, they might have a “little” accident. This causes the infant and holder’s Hygiene to plummet into the red, so get both those Sims into a bath pronto!
Oh dear.
Peed On Caregiver: Accidents happen, such as this. This can happen when your Sim is changing an infant’s diaper at the changing table. They’ll get this Milestone to mark the moment.
First Trip to the Park: There’s nothing like that first visit to a designated park, with plants and playgrounds and plenty of Sims to meet. This moment is so significant to infants that they’ll get a Milestone specially for this. Send your infant and a supervising Sim to any park lot type to get this Milestone.
First Vacation: Vacations are great for a getaway from the daily grinds of life. Infants might be young, but they like a vacation too. They’ll get a Milestone the first time you send them away on vacation.
First Visit to a Family Member’s Home: If your infant has a family member who doesn’t live in the same household, why not pay them a visit? Get your infant and another household member to a lot with a family member to get this Milestone.
Infants can experience many firsts, including a trip to the park.
Gross Motor
The Gross Motor Milestones are probably the biggest and most important accomplishments for infants. Achieving them can unlock more interactions, such as being able to use the high chair, play with toys, and eventually crawl around on their own. These are definitely the Milestones you’ll want to work on most, to get more out of your infant and getting them to be more independent. The key interaction is Tummy Time Together, which requires another Sim to help them out, ideally their caregiver. As they get more of these Milestones, they’ll eventually be able to do Tummy Time without a grown-up helping them. Gross Motor Milestones can only be achieved in order, having to get one to unlock the next, and so on and so on, until eventually an infant gets the Learned to Crawl Milestone.
These Milestones are definitely worth the effort. Your infants won’t need to be carried around anymore, for a start. Plus, it’ll help them get a boost in their Movement Skill when they become a toddler.
You’ll be spending a lot of time doing Tummy Time, at least for the first set of Gross Motor Milestones.
Lifted Head: This is one of those Milestones that requires effort and input in your part, as well as patience. In fact, a lot of these Gross Motor Milestones requires a lot of effort and patience. Your infant lifting their head is the first of many steps to sitting up, which opens up a lot of options, and eventually being able to crawl around on their hands and knees. The key to achieving this first step (and the following steps) is the Tummy Time Together interaction.
Take care of any infant Needs first, then initiate Tummy Time Together. Make sure you’re doing it with a Sim who has plenty of time on their hands and their own Needs are in check. You don’t want to be doing it with a Sim who needs the toilet or some food, or if they’re about to head to work. Once all the infant’s Needs are comfortably in the green, it’s Tummy Time! This key interaction can be found by clicking on the infant. If it’s not available in the initial social menu, it’ll be under Friendly > Activities. Your Sim will then place the infant on the floor, either on a mat or the playmat, and will encourage them to work on their motor skills, starting with lifting their head.
There’s no progress bar to see how close they are to achieving the Milestone, so keep working at it, using the Tummy Time interaction. You may have to repeat it several times to get the Milestone. Keep an eye on the infant’s Needs. If any of their Needs dip into the yellow, it might be time to stop and give their Needs some attention. If an infant becomes Sad from needing a nap, put them to bed. They won’t learn anything if they’re distracted. Let them have a rest, go off and do other stuff, and come back to working on their Milestones later.
Rolled Over to Back: Your infant has managed to lift their head, now they need to roll over onto their back, which is a big accomplishment for an infant. Give it some Tummy Time and eventually they’ll manage to roll themselves over. Once they’ve Rolled Over to Back, the next stage is to roll them onto their tummy.
Rolled Over to Tummy: Your infant has learned to roll onto their back. Now, can they get onto their tummy too? Of course they can! With some more Tummy Time, they’ll soon be rolling onto their belly.
Learned to Creep: It’s Tummy Time again as your infant’s next stage in getting moving is learning to creep. After this, it’s the big Sit Up Milestone.
Learned to Sit Up: This is probably one of the most important Milestones an infant can get. This is because the Sit Up Milestone opens up many new opportunities for your infant. They can start playing with toys, they can scoot around, and they can eat in the high chair. Get Tummy Timing fast to get to this significant Milestone. Why stop here as well? There’s plenty more your infant can do!
Sit Up is one of the most important Milestones to get.
Learned to Crawl: Hours of Tummy Time have led to this Milestone: crawling. Tummy Time won’t help you here though. You’ll unlock a new interaction: Practice Crawling. It’ll take a lot of time for an infant to eventually get it, and it’s worth it, so be patient and persistent.
Pulled to Stand: One day, you might catch the moment when your infant suddenly crawls over to an armchair and hauls themselves up. This Milestone marks the first time a Sim ever stands. Note that this achievement does not mean your infant can walk. They won’t be able to do that until they’re a toddler. To make sure this Milestone happens, have an armchair nearby. A good place is in the infant’s nursery, for example. Have an older Sim Practice Standing with your infant, and eventually they’ll get it.
Learned to Dance: After crawling and standing, what’s next for an infant? How about dancing, well, “dancing” as an infant can? Get your infant near a stereo, turn it on, and get them wiggling to the music, and eventually they’ll learn to “dance”.
Pulled to Stand requires a piece of furniture such as an armchair to achieve.
Social
Socializing with an infant is very important. Infants are not to be neglected, and to be honest, it’s hard to ignore them. They’ll protest if their Needs drop too low, and if their Hunger drops to zero, they’ll be taken away. It’s hard to avoid an infant, but if you want them to continue developing into their later years, you should spend some time with them. You’ll always be “socializing” with an infant whenever you’re interacting with them, even when you’re changing their diaper or feeding them. You can talk to infants and play with them. Keep interacting with them and they’ll quickly go through the Social Milestones. These are unlocked in order, starting with First Smile, and eventually, they’ll be babbling.
Spend plenty of time socializing with your infant and they’ll learn their Social Milestones.
First Smile: Out of all the Infant Milestones, this is likely to be the first one that you get. You can get it as soon as your infant ages up, or if you’re playing a pre-made infant straight from creating a household in Create-A-Sim, they may already have it! It’s the simplest of Milestones to achieve and sets your infant on their way to socializing. After this Milestone has been marked, they can use the Smile at Sim interaction, which is very sweet.
Learned to Coo: Smiling is the first stage of social interaction with an infant. Next is cooing, an early phase of babbling. Infants will be encouraged to coo through interacting with them.
Learned to Laugh: First smiling, then cooing, and now laughing. Watching and hearing an infant give a joyous laugh for the first time is a special moment. Achieving this Milestone often happens through social interaction or infant playtime.
Learned to Babble: By this stage, infants have progressed from cooing to very nearly speaking. Although infants can’t learn to speak yet – not until they’re toddlers – this is the closest they’ll get to being able to speak. By frequently talking to your infant, they’ll get the idea and start responding to other Sims.
Learned to Blow Kiss: This sweet interaction can be learned by infants through plenty of interaction from other Sims.
Learned Peek-a-Boo: Peek-a-boo is a fun and cute interaction Sims can do with an infant. Infants will eventually grasp it and do it back!
Learned to Blow Raspberry: Other Sims can blow raspberries on infants as part of interacting with them. This fun and silly interaction will eventually lead them to learning to do it themselves.
Said First Word: An infant may not be able to walk yet, and technically they can’t talk yet either. However, they are able to say their first word. Aww! To get this special Milestone, keep socializing with your infant and you’ll eventually get rewarded.
The Smile Milestone can be learned as soon as your infant ages up.
Infant Quirks
Milestones aren’t the only thing you have to watch out for with infants. They can develop quirks too, some of which can be annoying and hinder their day-to-day activities. Not all of them are bad though. Infants are randomly assigned up to 3 quirks, which you have to “discover” through gameplay. There’s no way of changing them or teaching an infant out of a quirk. It’s something you have to live with. Here are all the quirks you need to be aware of when you have infants in your household.
- Early Riser: Infants with this quirk tend to wake up with the rising sun. This may cause some issues if you want your infant to sleep all through the night and they went to bed late.
- Feeding Tinkler: This quirk is a little icky. While eating, your infant may go for a wee at the same time.
- Free-Air Tinkler: Another not-so-pleasant quirk (at least for the other Sim!) Infants with this may decide to do a pee while being held, causing them and their caregiver’s Hygiene to drop.
- Frequently Hiccups: Infants will hiccup now and again. Nothing too much to worry about.
- Frequently Sneezes: Infants with this quirk will sneeze now and again, as the quirk’s name suggests, but it’s nothing to worry about.
- Gassy: You can probably guess what this quirk is all about. Yes, your infant will be very… whiffy, passing wind now and again.
- Good Appetite: This is a good quirk to have. Infants are less likely to be picky with their food, pretty much enjoying everything you put in front of them, giving you and your infant an easier time.
- Happy Spitter: This quirk is a bit gross. Like Messy Eaters, these infants will spit out their food as they eat it.
- Hates Bedtime: Some youngsters hate bedtimes, including infants with this quirk. When you put them to bed in their crib, they’ll protest, and they may wake up again.
- Hates Being Held: These infants do not like being held. It’s kind of hard to avoid, as infants have to be carried around a lot, particularly if they haven’t learned to crawl yet. Prepare for your infant to be unhappy whenever they’re held.
- Hates Wakeup Time: If your infant has this quirk, they will not be happy when they wake up from their sleep, even if they’ve had a good night’s rest.
- Little Babbler: These infants are very vocal and chatty.
- Loves Being Held: An infant will this quirk just loves being held by an older Sim. Just note that after being put down, they won’t be too happy, but this is only short lasting and they’ll get over it.
- Loves Sounds: Some infants don’t like noises, especially loud ones, but not these infants. They won’t mind the sound of the TV, stereo, or other noise makers.
- Loves Wakeup Time: Some infants hate waking up, but not infants with this quirk. This will make getting them up and ready much easier.
- Messy Eater: All infants are messy, right? But these infants make even more mess than usual when they’re eating. More food piles will spawn than normal when they eat, creating more mess for your Sim to clean up.
- Picky Eater: Infants finicky with food will be more likely to reject new foods put in front of them. They won’t hate everything though.
- Self-Soother: Some infants have to be soothed by others to calm them down, but these infants can calm themselves, which is very useful.
- Snuggly Sleeper: Infants with this quirk can comfortably and happily sleep while being cradled or being carried around in a carrier. The same can’t be said for cribs or the ground, in which they’ll make a fuss.
Infant quirks can be seen in the Traits panel.
Final Tips on Infants in The Sims 4
That should be everything covered for infants in The Sims 4, from taking care of them and raising them to be happy and successful Sims. Here are some final tips to leave you with:
- There’s no denying that infants are hard work, but with good organization and dedicated and caring Sims, you’ll easily manage your demanding infants, keeping on top of their Needs and completing many Milestones before they age up.
- If you’re planning to head out with another Sim, such as to an active day of work or just an outing, have your infant’s most crucial Needs dealt with first: Hunger and Energy. You don’t want to come home to an infant in a bad mood or with critically low Needs. If you must, cancel any engagements and return straight home if your infant needs your attention.
- If you want to go out but don’t want to leave your infant, get the travel crib and put it in your inventory, then take your infant out with you. When you get to your destination, plonk the crib down in a suitable place and put your tired infant in so they can rest while you go off and do stuff.
- If you have Growing Together, use the baby carrier to carry your infant around on your Sim’s back. This makes carrying them around much easier, especially outdoors and when visiting different neighborhoods.
- Whenever you unlock new interactions via a Milestone, try them out and use them. This will eventually lead to getting more Milestones.
- If you want to get all the Milestones, set the lifespan to Long. 5 days really isn’t enough, even when your infant has your full attention. Don’t forget they have Needs; quickly getting tired and bored, as well as Hungry, plus they frequently use their diaper.
- If your infant lives with multiple older Sims, don’t feel that only a close caregiver can tend to them. Get other Sims to pitch in as well.
- You don’t have to get all the Milestones, but the most important ones to work towards are: Pincer Grasp, Sit Up, and Learned to Crawl.
Don’t forget the baby carrier if you need it for traveling around.
If you’re looking for more guides for The Sims 4, check these out:
