#helpful posts

Figuring out the age of Sims in The Sims 4 is tough. Sims don’t have set birthdays, and they age up based on life stages, which makes it hard for legacy players and storytellers to pin down exactly how “old” a Sim is supposed to be. And let’s be honest: there’s a big difference between a five‑year‑old child and a twelve‑year‑old.

You might have already seen my previous Lifespan graphic (available on my website and here on Tumblr), which uses the MC Command Center mod to create custom age ranges. I wanted to make a version that doesn’t require mods, so I came back and created a mod‑free Lifespan graphic based entirely on the normal, base‑game age ranges available to all Sims 4 players.

After a lot of trial, error, and tweaking, I put together the life stage breakdowns you see above. I tried to match the number of Sim days in each stage with real‑world ages that feel familiar and intuitive. I’m sharing this because it might help anyone else who struggles to “age” their Sims in a way that makes sense. It’s not perfect, but it’s a solid starting point, and I hope it helps.

A large/printable version of this graphic is available here: PNG (version 3)**

♡ play dress up! ♡

wear your cutest outfit and take cute pics or dress your stuffies too! (optional: do this with friends or cgs!!)

make it cute or funny!!! wear something you love or make a crazy clothes combination!!

♡ decorate something! ♡

fun fact: kiddos love to make things cute and pretty! so why don’t you use those stickers you’ve been thinking about using? put them on your phone case, your journal, a piece of paper and make a scene with them, your paci, your bottle, your backpack, heck even put them on your face and decorate yourself!!

♡ organize a stuffie meeting! ♡

okay stuffies. it’s time to talk! gather all your stuffed animals, and set them up in a big group with you in the center. take cute pictures of your stuffies, or play a pretend game where you have a party, a tea party, or an official stuffie business meeting. you can take notes on a piece of paper, make everyone name tags, or set up an even bigger space where the stuffies can be doing things! for example, using a little chair and desk you can pretend your stuffies are at school!

or for lots of fun, gather all your stuffies on a bed or soft surface, and JUMP IN THEM!!! it’s really fun and stuffies are cuddly! just be careful!

♡ tiny friend play date! ♡

meet up with another tiny friend like you and go somewhere fun where you can be small together! or invite them for a sleepover and make it a classic kiddo sleepover: prepare lots of snacks in advance, get the disney movies ready, break out the sleeping bags, get stuffies and toys ready for fun sleepover pretend games!

don’t have a tiny friend irl? no problem!! because tiny play dates can be organized online!! the best place for this is discord! make a server for your play date and invite as many friends as you want! to go on an adventure together, share pictures and stories of your favorite places and talk all about them. or go somewhere on your own and bring your tiny friends along by taking pictures of your surroundings and telling them all about the experience!! wanna have a sleepover too?? perfect!! plan to stay up tonight with your tiny friends on your sever and organize some fun things! share pictures of stuffies, spooky stories, play music, watch movies on rabb.it, and you can even roleplay a game as your toys and stuffies!!

♡ play online games! ♡

there’s so many fun games to play online that can make you feel small!! sometimes it’s enough to sit down with a laptop, ipad, or phone, cuddled with your stuffies and favorite blankie and play an exciting or relaxing game!!

♡ if you have a cg, plan a special tiny day! ♡

it’s common knowledge that having a special tiny day with your cg is lots of fun!!! you may not be able to go somewhere fancy, but you can even make the most of your time with your cg at home!! set up a play area for you to have lots of fun together with all your toys and tiny things!! have a movie night!! play games together!!

if you can’t see your cg irl, you can still plan a special tiny day!! actively talk to your cg and maybe voice call! play pretend together and watch movies together on rabb.it!! make a comfy space for yourself on your bed or floor while you watch movies and/or talk to your cg for a cozy and happy tiny day!!

♡ draw and color! ♡

should i even explain it?! drawing and coloring are the best things ever!! it’s a good way to express your creativity and use some crayons!!!! crayons are awesome!!!

draw something for someone you love and admire!

color something to hang up in your room or on your fridge!

color something to share on tumblr and show all your tiny friends!!

♡ prepare an awesome meal! ♡

it may not sound like something for lil ones to do, but if supervised, cooking while small can be lots of fun!! helping a cg, friend or family member cook when you’re tiny can make you feel like you’re learning so much and being helpful!

making desserts is probably the most fun for this!!

making a really yummy meal to put on little dishes is really cute too!!

♡ create a journal! ♡

make a lil time journal! draw, color and decorate in it to your tiny heart’s content!! make sections to write about all your favorite things! stick photos on the inside of your stuffies, or of your friends, or of your cg!!! use it to express yourself and have lots of fun with it!!

come up with daily or weekly topics to write about! make fun categories! make a section where you draw pictures of your dream room!!

♡ do activity worksheets! ♡

you can find these everywhere! just look up school worksheets online, or go to your local dollar store and pick up a kid’s school activity book!

you can print the worksheets out from online or you can use an editing app on your phone like phonto or picsart to do them!

these are beneficial for staying small and still learning and testing your baby knowledge!! you’re super smart so i’m sure it’ll be lots of fun!

♡ take a bubble bath! ♡

it sounds simple but yet... bubble baths are so much more than getting clean!! bring your favorite bath toys, put in lots of bubble soap, bring a bath fizzy! or color changing bath tablets! or bathtub wall paint or crayons!!

turn bathtime into the ultimate tiny playplace!! make yourself a hat out of bubbles, or blow them everywhere and see how they fall like snow!!

play with your bath toys and make them hide in the bubbles!! they live in a bubble castle!!!

if you turned the water red or purple, pretend it’s a scary murky lake and the toys have to get across it safely using a bottle of shampoo as a raft!!!! will they get across?!?

♡ anything you love to do! ♡

this is incredibly vague for a reason! because you know exactly what you love to do! so go do it!!!

make that painting you’ve been wanting to paint, write that story or poem, try that new food, plan that adorable lil photo shoot, reach out and make lil friends, be yourself, get those stuffies you’ve always wanted, make that cozy tiny corner in your room, dance around in your socks (but be careful)! just do whatever you love to do and be yourself while doing it!!

don’t hold yourself back, and don’t limit yourself! try new things and do what makes you happiest!

Although this isn’t limited to just witchcraft, I’ll speak directly to that as it’s my best area of expertise. 

So, you practice witchcraft, or some variant of the word. And you’re got a significant other or even just someone you’re interested in who may or may not know about your practices or beliefs. 

I want to tell you right now that the last thing you should be thinking about is if you’ll have to give that up for this person. I will tell you from personal experience and general human compassion that no matter what, if a person loves you, or cares for you truly, they would never make you give up something that is inherently a part of you. Unfortunately, there tends to be a scale of acceptance and tolerance that I’ve noticed. It looks roughly like this

I have dated several people, all of whom have fallen on different parts of this scale. My current partner is on the far left side. He has been accepting and open-minded from the beginning, even curious and interested. He’s also a writer, and my knowledge of the occult and all things related to it has formed another bond between us as he asks me for help with things relating to that topic that he wants to write about. I get to help him write, and he helps me to feel closer, as well as giving me new perspectives. All of this, and he is also something of a Christian. He believes in God and talks of Him pretty often. While he doesn’t necessarily want to practice what I do, he absolutely respects me and even likes that I practice, and encourages me.

Skip back a few years to another person I was with, another Christian guy who was the polar opposite of my boyfriend now. He was a firm believer, and did not even for a second respect me or my beliefs. He reconnoitered with my parents, tried to get me kicked out of my home, was emotionally and mentally abusive on top of this, and  threatened to leave me if I didn’t get rid of all of the things relating to my beliefs and start following his. He was on the far right. Needless to say, the relationship didn’t last. He obviously did not respect me, or my beliefs, and didn’t have the strength of character to learn how to be okay with me being different. 

This can even extend further than just romantic relationships. It can affect your friendships, and even your family. My dad and stepmom, whom I have lived with since I was about 12 or so, were not entirely sure of what I was doing or what I was interested in. They knew it was occult related, and I can specifically remember my dad sitting me down one day to tell me to be careful, to read everything and take what I learn with a grain of salt, because I didn’t know what I was getting into just yet, and not to let people take advantage of that. Fast forward to my late teenage years and they buy me crystals and books and herbs every year for holidays  and birthdays. They save jars for me because they know I hoard them (as many witches seem to do). They are the most supportive parents I could ask for. My mom and stepdad on the other hand, were another story. Very christian, they didn’t support it, they worried about my soul, they (most especially my stepdad) condemned my soul for reading and learning about it. My mom tried to understand, but in the end she was beaten down by my stepdads controlling attitude, and now it’s a subject we dance around and never confront. It’s caused such a strain in our relationship, among many other things, that to this day and for the rest of my life we will probably never be able to rebuild that bridge of trust and understanding.

There are certain parts of yourself that are non-negotiable. They make up who you are, your very foundation and character and personality, and your beliefs and practices are most definitely one of them. Not to mention that many people are younger and still growing and these practices may not be the same as they will be in 5 years, or even 5 months. You go through periods of growth and learning and you absolutely cannot and should  not let an impermanent person dictate your beliefs or make you feel unworthy of them because of your practices. 

Figuring out the age of Sims in the Sims 4 is tough. Sims don’t have a set ‘birthday,’ and they age up based on life stages, making it hard for legacy players and storytellers to narrow down exactly what ‘age’ a sim is. Let’s face it: there’s a big difference between a child who is five years old and one who is twelve.

I’ve been a legacy/storyteller for years. Previously, I relied on the in-game ‘normal’ life span for my sims. However, I often felt rushed to get my sims married and have children. This was to avoid the problem of my elder sims dying off before meeting their grandchildren. This issue became even worse when the Discover University Expansion was introduced. If I want to send my sims to college, it takes up even more of their young adult years. Consequently, the marriage/child ‘rush’ becomes a bigger issue.

Eventually, I turned to the MC Command Center mod to solve this by creating my own age ranges, giving each life stage ample time to pursue their goals, develop as characters, and later find someone to spend their lives with. With some tweaking over the years, I came up with the life stage breakdowns you see above. I tried matching the number of sim days in each life stage with an ‘age’ that matches what we’re used to in the real world. I am sharing this because it might be helpful for anyone else who is struggling to ‘age’ their sims. And while it’s not perfect, it could be a good starting point, and I hope it helps!

A large/printable version of this graphic is available on my website here: My Sims 4 Lifespan**

**Link takes you to my WordPress website

My new age friends call that state of being pronoia, the opposite of paranoia. Instead of believing everyone is out to get you, you believe everyone is out to help you. Strangers are working behind your back to keep you going, prop you up, and get you on your path. The story of your life becomes one huge elaborate conspiracy to lift you up. But to be helped you have to join the conspiracy yourself; you have to accept the gifts.