The Sims 4: Parenthood

The Sims 4 Parenthood was developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts, released in 2017. It is a game pack that focuses on family dynamics and parenting, expanding the ways players can shape children’s development and family life within the base game.

The pack introduces a Parenting skill that lets Sims influence child behaviour through discipline, encouragement and choices that leave lasting effects on traits, relationships and future outcomes, along with new family activities such as school projects, construction blocks and volunteer opportunities to foster bonding and skill growth. It also adds themed build/buy items and family-oriented clothing to personalise homes and wardrobes for family storytelling.

Promotion for Parenthood used Electronic Arts’ and Maxis’ standard channels, including store listings, social media announcements and promotional showcases that highlighted the Parenting skill, family activities and new decorative content, while community creators and livestreams were encouraged to demonstrate family-focused gameplay and home redesigns to show practical use of the pack’s features.

Reception was generally positive, with players and critics praising the depth it added to family roleplay, the meaningful consequences of parenting choices and the new interactive activities that enrich child development narratives; criticisms centred on the pack’s limited scope compared with full expansions and occasional bugs or balance issues around behaviour outcomes, but overall it was viewed as a welcome, impactful addition for players who enjoy domestic storytelling.