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One of the most exciting updates to The Sims 4 was the introduction of the infant life stage. Prior to this update, babies were more like objects with limited interactions and were confined to their bassinet. The addition of infants meant that players could now experience a new stage of life, which bridges the gap between newborns (the new name for the babies) and toddlers. While infants still require a lot of care and attention, they develop and progress over time, similar to toddlers in The Sims 4. As such, with the addition of the infant stage, players now have the opportunity to interact with their Sims in a more meaningful way during this critical time in their development.
The Growing Together expansion pack also introduced many new events and the milestone feature, which has a significant impact on the growth of infants. As such, infants with this pack are greatly expanded, with so many of their activities locked behind reaching these milestones, unlike the other age groups. Infants start out being confined to their bassinet or being carried on a caregiver's back and only being able to drink from a bottle or breastfeed, but as they complete milestones, they can learn to crawl and scoot and even try out new baby food and finger foods. It's important for players to make sure their infants complete as many milestones as possible before aging up to toddlers to fully experience the growth and development that comes with this stage of life.
In certain cases, players may encounter minor glitches with regard to earning milestones, particularly when using script mods and custom content. If it seems like the infant is on the verge of mastering a new milestone, such as repeating a related activity multiple times and hearing the achievement sound without any notification or progress being added, players should try restarting the game or going to manage worlds and returning to the household to resolve the issue.
List Of All Infant Milestones
There are five milestone categories in the infant life stage, namely Fine Motor, Firsts, Gross Motor, Life, and Social. Each of these categories, except for the Life category, requires a specific set of completed activities to be unlocked. There are, in total, 31 milestones in all categories combined so far. Out of all categories, Firsts is the only category that doesn't have a linear progression, as different firsts can be achieved at any time.
Life | This category in the infant milestone system includes the Born milestone, which can be labeled as Born or Born at Hospital depending on whether the player chooses to give birth in a hospital or not. |
Fine Motor (Chronologically) | Learned to Reach, Learned to Grab, Put Toe In Mouth, Learned To Wave, Learned To Clap, Learned Pincher Grasp |
Firsts | First Visitors, First Bath, First Bubble Bath, First Baby Food, Slept Through the Night, First Finger Food, First Diaper Blowout, Peed on Caregiver |
Gross Motor (Chronologically) | Lifted Head, Rolled Over to Back, Rolled Over to Tummy, Learned to Creep, Learned to Sit Up, Pulled To Stand, Learned To Dance, Learned To Crawl |
Social (Chronologically) | First Smiled, Learned to Coo, Learned to Laugh, Learned to Babble, Learned to Blow Kiss, Learned Peek-A-Boo |
The Sims 4: Growing Together Complete Guide
Growing Together is the newest expansion pack for The Sims 4, and it features more content for Sims, but mostly for children and infants
How To Unlock All Infant Milestones
To unlock milestones in each category, players need to perform different actions. For instance, in the Gross Motor category, players can hover over the grayed-out milestones in the Simology panel (without entering the Milestone information screen) to see which specific activities need to be completed in order to reach the next milestone. As infants complete milestones, they will be able to work on some of the remaining milestones on their own as well.
Fine Motor
The Fine Motor category pertains to the infant's development of small muscle control, particularly in their hands and fingers. To achieve the milestones in this category, infants should frequently play with toys. Especially in the early stages, caregiver Sims will need to give them the toys since they cannot access them themselves. The most significant and latest milestone in this category is learning the pincer grasp, as infants who master this skill can begin to explore the world of finger foods.
Firsts
The Firsts category pertains to the various actions an infant has experienced for the first time. Most of these firsts will be related to their basic needs, and as caregivers attend to these needs, they will naturally achieve these milestones. However, for some firsts, such as trying baby food and finger food, players will need to complete the respective milestones in the Fine Motor and Gross Motor categories. Other firsts in this category, such as sleeping through the night and peeing on the caregiver, require players to pay attention to the infant's needs and time the activities accordingly. As a result, these milestones may be more challenging to achieve than others.
Gross Motor
The Gross Motor category is where players will notice the most visible changes in an infant's development. This category is crucial for infants to gain more independence, as they will eventually be able to navigate on their own on a single floor by scooting and later by crawling. To achieve the milestones in this category, Sims caregivers will need to regularly engage in "Play Tummy Together" activities with the infant. However, as the infant progresses, they will be able to do it independently. For some of the other milestones, such as learning to crawl or pull to stand, caregiver Sims will need to assist with unique interactions such as "Practice Standing" or "Practice Crawling." Nonetheless, the infant should also be working on Tummy Time independently in the process.
Social
The milestones in the Social category are attained through observing the interactions between the infant and other Sims, particularly the caregivers. With regular interactions outside of just fulfilling basic needs, infants can easily learn these milestones over time. To expedite the process, players can introduce new interactions between Sims to help infants learn them faster. Infants can also learn from socializing with individuals other than their caregivers, such as interacting with other infants or Sims of any age group.
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Advantages Of Unlocking All Infant Milestones
Achieving the milestones in The Sims 4 infant life stage is an essential part of the game, and it comes with several benefits and has more impact than other life stage milestones. One of the main reasons why it is important to get these milestones is that observing the growth of the infant feels more meaningful and makes each infant unique when they are making progress toward their next milestone. It gives players a sense of accomplishment and progress, making the game more engaging and immersive.
Ability To Eat On A High Chair
Another benefit of completing the milestones is the ability to try baby food in the high chair and, eventually, finger foods. This adds another level of realism to the game, as infants typically start eating solid foods around six months of age. It also opens up new gameplay opportunities, such as being able to feed the infant without relying solely on bottle feeding or breastfeeding. The experience of eating on a high chair is already available to infants in the base game without any prerequisites. This allows them to explore and discover different types of food that they may enjoy. However, with the Growing Together expansion pack, this experience is locked behind the achievement of milestones. In addition, infants can also have the opportunity to try out finger foods as an addition.
Bonuses
Furthermore, completing the milestones in the different categories of Fine Motor, Gross Motor, Firsts, Life, and Social also unlocks bonuses for the infant. For example, if all achievements are completed, the infant gains two levels on each of the toddler skills: Communication, Movement, and Thinking. This can give players a significant advantage when the infant grows into a toddler, making it easier to teach them new skills, gain new milestones, and progress through the game.
Top-Notch Infant trait
Finally, completing all or at least most milestones and fulfilling needs well in the infant life stage rewards players with the Top-Notch Infant trait. This trait allows Sim to have a generally positive outlook in life and occasionally gives +1 happy moodlet. Combined with the Top-Notch Toddler trait, which is gained by maximizing at least 3 of the toddler skills, it can be incredibly valuable in the long run, as it sets the Sim for success in later life stages by keeping them happy and helping them learn skills quicker.
The Sims 4 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
