Children in The Sims 4 are the real flowers of life. They make gameplay significantly more diverse and unlock unique game opportunities: parenthood, family memories, schooling, numerous types of entertainment, skills, and activities unavailable to adults.

Characters have several ways to have a child, and not all of them are obvious. Let's take a closer look at all possible options.

Conceive a Child

The classic conception is the most familiar way. For this, you will need two young/adult Sims in love, but not necessarily of different genders. With the latest updates in The Sims 4, the player can choose which character can carry a child and which can fertilize. This feature does not necessarily have to correspond to gender.

Two characters with a sufficiently high relationship level can conceive a child. Conception is not available for children, teenagers, and elderly characters. It is not necessary to start a relationship or bind oneself by marriage. The action should appear in the Romance section after the Sims become close enough. Develop both relationship bars - green (friendship) and pink (romance). If one of the bars is not filled enough, the action may not appear.

To conceive a child, choose any suitable place. There are plenty of them in The Sims 4:

• bed;
• shower;
• spaceship;
• closet;
• sauna;
• jacuzzi;
• bush;
• sleep pod;
• tent;
• observatory;
• coffin - for vampires, and others.

To start the process, just click on an item and select the action. If the relationship between the Sims is not close enough, one of them will simply refuse intimacy. The situation will be quite awkward, so it's better to wait a bit before trying again.

The conception animation is classic - the Sims hide under "censorship," for example, a blanket or a pair from the shower/sauna/jacuzzi, and hearts appear over their heads.

You can check for pregnancy immediately. To do this, send the Sim who could be fertilized to the toilet and take a pregnancy test for 15 simoleons. If conception has occurred, a corresponding notification will appear on the notice board, and the Sim will have a small belly.

Taking the test is not mandatory. If for some reason the melody did not play, after some time the Sim will independently realize they are pregnant. The first signs of pregnancy will appear, and again a small belly will grow. If conception does not happen, just try again - sometimes Sims need several attempts.

You can change gender settings after creating a character using the cheat code cas.fulleditmode. To activate it:

1. Open the console by pressing Ctrl+Shift+C;
2. Enter the command: testingcheats true;
3. Confirm with Enter;
4. Enter the next command: cas.fulleditmode on. Confirm again.
   

This cheat code activates full CAS mode, as if you were creating a character from scratch. Hold Shift, click LMB on the Sim and choose edit in CAS.

Adopt from a Shelter

In The Sims 4, there are children who are orphaned and need love. If your Sim decides to adopt, they can contact a shelter by phone or through a computer. Go to the Household section and select the option: "Adopt a Child". You will then be redirected to a panel for choosing babies of various ages and genders. The cost of the service is 1000 simoleons.

Note that if you fail to take care of the child and forget about their needs, child services will take them back. This can happen with biological children as well.

An important nuance of this method is that the child will not resemble the parent. The next option allows creating an exact copy of the Sim-parent, but without direct conception.

Have a Child from a Test Tube

The Sims 4 offers you not to waste extra time and conceive a child... from a test tube. Yes, just like that - combine two genomes and get a "ready" baby. This method appeared in the game with the expansion "Growing Together". You can also do this via phone in the Household section. Choose the option "Conceive a child from a test tube" for 1200 simoleons.

When conceiving a child from a test tube, you need to select its parents. It can be one character - then the baby will be their identical copy, or both parents regardless of gender. Your Sims will be spared the process of pregnancy, and the baby will appear in the family within a few hours.

Alien Pregnancy

An unusual way of conception, which is not so easy to obtain. Alien abduction and subsequent fertilization is a random event that some players literally "hunt" for. To increase the chances of abduction, your Sim should observe the sky at night using a telescope. The chances are higher if the character works as a scientist.

The arrival of aliens will be marked by characteristic animation and melody. The action cannot be canceled - the Sim will disappear for a while and with a certain probability will return with a child in their belly. The baby will be born an alien.

Thus, a character of any gender can become pregnant, including a man. This used to be amusing and relevant, but now, as mentioned, gender settings make absolutely any Sim suitable for conception.

If you play with occult characters, their conception follows the same principle as regular Sims. The only difference is where they can do it. For example, vampires can WooHoo in the form of bats or in a coffin.