Life skill

Life skills were introduced in The Sims 2: FreeTime. They are skills that a Sim can learn to unlock special interactions or abilities. Unlike other skills, they are not learned incrementally. A Sim will not have a life skill until he or she has learned it completely.

Parenting
This skill can be learned by reading a book from any bookcase. Once learned, it allows a Sim to "check" on babies. A thought bubble will appear indicating any motives needing attention. The symbols for hunger, bladder, and so forth are the same as they are when older Sims need something and began waving at the player.

Knowledge and Family Sims will often roll a want to learn this skill after having a baby.

Fire Prevention
Sims with this skill are more effective at putting out fires, and are calmer when a fire actually starts. From a player's perspective, it is easier to get them to move away from the fire.

Anger Management
Reduces the chance of becoming furious with another Sim. When Sims with this skill do get furious, they may get over it faster, and the relationship damage is less.

Lifelong Happiness
When a Sim has learned this skill, his or her aspiration level will take much longer to decay.

Physiology
Sims with this skill build Body skill faster, gain Fitness faster and lose it slower, and lose Energy more slowly. This skill was bugged in the initial release of Apartment Life, so that Sims who learnt it would learn Body skill instantly. The bug was fixed in the Apartment Life patch, but then broken again in Mansions and Gardens Stuff. It was also fixed as part of the alfixes mod on More Awesome Than You, and by a standalone mod available on Mod The Sims.

Couple Counseling
Allows a new interaction: "Repair relationship with...". When this interaction is used, the Sim using it will start trying to fix the relationship between the two Sims who have a romantic relationship problem. If a couple is divorced, their relationship cannot be repaired.

Notes and tips

 * Wants to study a life skill are not fulfilled until the skill has been completely learned.