Thanks

I'm glad I found this thread, Pinkfish. I came in to ask what to do with my little Lila, who's mom died yesterday--dad died earlier. I put some groceries on the counter for her, & all she'll do is peek at them! So wondered if she will starve before she figures out how to cook. (I was doing that at 8 yrs)Luckily, her parents were hard working ppl who left her with almost $10 thou. She's the one I want in the next generation, not her older brother.
If a 5 yr old were left alone in the game, could she/he survive to the age when she could work?

The game is designed to give the player options. There is nothing wrong with continuing to play with only children in the house if you are not yet ready or willing to end the current generation, since the children still have the "guiding hand" (you) to take care of them. Even if there is not much of a bank balance, children can still make enough money selling collectibles to provide for food and other necessities. That's part of the choice. If the player doesn't think kids should be in a house without parents, they can "fast-forward" the generation to when all of the kids are in their 20s and ready to possibly inherit the house. If you are just not ready to say goodbye until the last child goes off to college, you can also continue to care for them until they leave for college and then make the transition. Or you can make the transition at any time in between. It's all about choices.

Thats wonderful, you sure put a lot of thought into this game! I'm still learning good little tricks. Well, Lila's about to skip her teens & get on with it. ^,^

Just to allay anyone's fears about kids under 14 not being able to put the groceries away in the fridge, If you close the game then reopen it they will have been magically put away. Switching to another slot will probably do the same, but I haven't tried that.

As Barbara says, they should get enough income from selling duplicate collectibles to cover food and other bills.

I agree with the first writer that parents die too soon.
But I never start a new family untill the house is empty.
I think the survivors, being it kids or adults, "deserve" to remain in the house untill they leave for college or die.
It's my aim to make them happy agains as soon as possible.

But how about the pets?
They, miracelously, never die.....

My couple could never have children so they took in 2 orphans at a late age. Now, at 60 & 61 they both died, leaving the kids age 8 & 9 orphans!!!
What's going to happen? What about income?

You can either start your new generation where you pick from your two orphans to continue the family line. Or, you can let them run around and grow up until college (if you have enough money for food) Even though kids that age don't put groceries away, the minute you've set them on the table they are added to your food.
Good luck, people choose either way to play it out.

The kids can keep up enough income from selling collectibles to buy food and any other necessities, if you choose to wait until both of them leave home. Alternatively, you can move on to the next generation and they will all jump up in age to (usually) in their twenties. Personally I always wait.

Thanks! These comments helped me figure out how to get one of the kids home. Very funny, they aged the youngest two (both orphans) until they were older than their siblings! Time Travel, perhaps?

The new girl is so calm... no reaction to it being home or the fact that there is a treadmill (my fingers slipped in the store...) in the house!

LOL