I agree that it would take the fun out of collecting. But I would like to see a new skill called collecting. This new skill would make children collect items when you're off, and more. When there is a kid, train him or her to collect like in vv2. When that child becomes 14, if you have trained them well, they will still be able to pick up items. Also, that adult would be able to get that gong piece in the pond from vv2.
Also, I think moms should get more nursing points, but how much could depend on how much skill the child has. If the child has no skill, then the mother gets a little more skill than now. If the child has a lot of skill for their age, then the mother should get quite a bit of nursing points.