My virtual people can be hungry, prepare a meal then no sit down to eat on their own. So they have a table full of steaming food they've just prepared but then they go off & do something completely random & unrelated while still remaining hungry. This is a huge inconsistent & illogical gap in the bahavior of a virtual person. In my mind a virtual person would have at least a small amount of actually human capacity for taking care of ones self as in eating on ones own when they're hungry or taking a shower when they don't feel fresh. Instead just about the only thing I see them doing on their own is using the toilet when nature calls. Are there subsequent iOS versions of this game that any more realistic than this? (Read: less frustrating)?

Hello VirtuallyMe. In Virtual Families 2, it is the player who shapes the behavior of the little people through use of the green Praise glove and the red Scold glove. Use the green glove to praise the peeps for the behaviors you want to reinforce, and the red glove to discourage behaviors that you may find displeasing. After your little person has prepared a meal, try dropping them at the table and praising them once their action is “Sitting down to a meal.” You may have to repeat the training several times before the desired behavior, in this case “Sitting down to a meal,” occurs autonomously after the peep has prepared a meal. I hope this helps.

That sorta helps. I mean I figured it was something like that but there are blurbs as the game loads that say don't over praise/correct behavior so I thought I was supposed to do it sparingly. I'll try adding more & see how that works.

Has anyone ever successfully trained their lil ppl to collect & sell the collectibles in their yard on their own? I've praised that heavily & it hasn't seemed to influence them

The collectibles are meant to be a reward for playing, so your family members will not collect them unless the player directly puts them onto the collectible every time. Duplicate collectibles are automatically sold, and new ones are automatically added to the collectibles cabinet.

The over-praising can relate to praising a family member more than twice in a row. The person being praised will run away, but there are ways to repeat the cycle. Experiments are fun!

Over-correcting (via the scolding glove) has the possibility of making the family member depressed, so that is something to keep in mind. I hope this helps!

I see what you mean. I know if I have a sad person I sometimes have to trap them in a corner so they can't run away & repeatedly praise them until they are happy.

Oh dear. I know it's been a while since you posted this, but I have to think your peeps may simply be worried that they will be trapped in a corner and praised! Try praising them for desired behavior with candy or fruit occasionally, and show DVDs or read books especially if you have a little family. Praise them for exercise - trying to get them to always choose Tai Chi or Kung Fu on their own is a fun little side game. A kid in my game who likes pinball just inherited the house, so I am saving up for a pinball machine for him.