Daycare

Daycare is a self-employed profession added in The Sims 3: Generations. Any Sim can turn their home into a daycare center. Daycare specialists are responsible for watching and taking care of both toddlers and children. As their job level increases, daycare specialists will be asked to take care of more children, and unlock a new daycare uniform. Daycare is the only self-employed profession to have only five levels.

To join this profession, have a Sim use a phone or computer, click on the Jobs & Professions tab, and select the day care option. Toddlers will be dropped off at the Sim's house in the morning and children arrive on their own after their school day (which may or may not include afterschool activities they are enrolled in). Make sure there are plenty of toys and books for the kids and the proper care items for them. At the end of the day, a report is given based on each child's mood; the best being "great." If the child had an "okay", "good", or "great" report, the parent will give the daycare provider a handsome tip.

Responsibilities eventually include working on the weekends as well as taking care of a "problem child." Problem children will break appliances and electronics if left alone. Their homework takes longer for them to complete as well. Occasionally, a problem child will not do their homework, even if they are asked to. The player must initiate the "help with homework" interaction to get them to do it. The daycare provider will have an option to "talk about problems" with them, which keeps them out of trouble and keeps items intact. Eventually, problem children will be "cured" and will no longer break appliances or require special attention. Curing a problem child will earn the daycare provider a 1,000 simoleon tip.

Sims who reach level 3 in this profession will have the "Tell Tale" self-interaction. This option is used to have the Sim tell a tale for the children, which increases their social and fun needs. When this is initiated, the toddlers and children will gather around and listen to the tale being told.

If children are repeatedly in horrible moods when their parents pick them up, a daycare provider can lose their daycare license. Operations will be suspended until the Sim gets their license back; this entails taking a class at City Hall, which costs §1000.

Daycare Profession Levels
Amateur Babysitter (level one) - On the day the job starts, two toddlers will be dropped off at 9am and stay until 7pm. The player's Sim will work Monday until Thursday and is in charge of feeding them, playing with them, changing them, and keeping them in a good mood. The job performance is based on the relationship between the player's Sim and the toddlers, daily day care duties, and the player's Sim handles the "emergencies" that come up. To see what the toddler needs, the player can hover over them. At the end of the day, when the parents pick up their children a daily report will pop up on the upper right side of the player's computer screen. The better the overall moods of the toddlers the better the player's Sim's job performance.

Cool Care-Giver (level two) - This level is basically the same as level one except the player's Sim now has to look after a third toddler.

Day Care Dynamo (Level three) - The player's Sim in charge is now expected to teach the toddlers how to walk and talk. The player's Sim earn a weekly stipend of 300 Simoleons a week. Parents also start calling saying they will be late and over the weekend. Normally the player's Sim will get a call around 9:30pm on Saturday with a parent asking to watch their child on the next day. When parents are late, or call on the weekend the player's Sim can expect an extra payment.

Good Guardian (Level four) - The player's Sim now watches five total children, which will be made up of a random number of toddlers, and elementary school students when they get out of school. This job gets a weekly stipend of 400 Simoleons a week, plus any extra the player's Sim gets from late nights or weekends. This daycare level gives your Sim the "go play" social interaction to be used on the children in their care. The child is expected to have their homework finished and it will show up in the daily report whether it was done or not. If the child starts playing immediately, the player's Sim has the option to tell them to "do homework". Because of time constraints, children's homework will already start off as 60% completed. The player's Sim also has to check the kids' needs by hovering over them. Sometimes player's Sim may need to prepare a portion of food in case the kids feel hungry, and immediately ask them to have a meal.

Daycare Specialist (Level five)- As a reward for reaching the highest level of the Daycare profession, Daycare Specialists will receive their own Daycare van. At this level, the player's Sim will be expected to watch a total of six toddlers and children, as well as the occasional "problem child". Player's Sim has also unlocked the "Admonish Child" and "Joys of Children" social interactions.

Player's Sim will also have a chance of being sent some free stuff from parents as a guardian reward, which can be found as mail in the mailbox.

Children's Needs and Moods
As said above, the children's needs can be revealed by hovering over the particular child. Fulfilling the needs on time will result on better mood for the children. A child can have multiple needs, which will all affect his or her mood, but needs are only revealed one at a time in order of urgency. The needs urgency level will be identified by some colors, explained below :
 *  Magenta : Identifies that the child has no problem or need to be addressed at the moment.
 *  Green : Identifies that the child has one little need. It's optional to be fulfilled or not.
 * Black: Identifies that the child has a need to be fulfilled.
 *  Orange  : Identifies that the child has a need to be fulfilled as soon as possible.
 *  Red : Identifies that the child has something urgent to be fixed right away!

The colors above also happen as identifiers for children's moods, explained below:
 *  Magenta : Identifies that the child is in a great mood.
 *  Green : Identifies that the child is in a good mood.
 * Black : Identifies that the child's mood isn't good (described as going south).
 *  Orange : Identifies that the child is in a bad mood.
 *  Red : Identifies that the child is in a really horrible mood.

Toddler's Needs
Toddlers have some needs like explained below:

Need for hunger
This need will appear in four alternatives:
 * Toddlers described having room for a snack - shown with green.
 * Toddlers described feeling a little hungry - shown with black.
 * Toddlers described feeling hungry - shown with orange and a balloon of Hungry moodlet.
 * Toddlers described feeling very hungry - shown with red and a balloon of Very Hungry moodlet.

Need for hygiene
This need will appear in three alternatives:
 * Toddlers described being a little smelly - shown with green.
 * Toddlers described being smelly - often shown with green or black.
 * Toddlers described being terribly smelly - shown with red and a balloon of Smelly moodlet.

Need for fun
This need will appear in three alternatives:
 * Toddlers described having a little fun - shown with green.
 * Toddlers described wanting some more fun - often shown with black.
 * Toddlers described not having fun - often shown with orange or red and a balloon of Strained moodlet.

Need for social
This need will appear in four alternatives:
 * Toddlers described wanting to socialize a little - shown with green.
 * Toddlers described wanting to socialize - shown with black.
 * Toddlers described feeling lonely - shown with orange and Lonely moodlet.
 * Toddlers described feeling really lonely - shown with red and Desolated moodlet.

Kid's Needs
Kids have similar needs to toddlers, except they are easier to fulfill. They are explained below:

Need for hunger
This need often appears particularly during the weekend, when kids arrive at 9am instead of after-school time. Unlike toddlers, children will need to eat a group meal. There are only two alternatives known so far:
 * Kids described having room for a snack - shown with green.
 * Kids described feeling a little hungry - shown with black.

Need for fun
This need will appear in three alternatives:
 * Kids described having a little fun - shown with green.
 * Kids described wanting some more fun - shown with black.
 * Kids described not having fun - often shown with orange or red and a balloon of Strained moodlet.

Need for social
There are only two alternatives known so far:
 * Kids described wanting to socialize a little - shown with green.
 * Kids described feeling lonely - shown with black.

Daycare Tips

 * Make sure your Daycare Specialist Sim is in a good mood and good motives.
 * Provide toddlers with toys. Having your TV turned on is a very good way to fulfill their need for fun rapidly.
 * Provide children with TV, video games, playground equipment, toys and food. Don't forget to let them play around after finishing their homework. Playing video games together is an efficient method of fulfilling their need for fun.
 * Purchase the Super Nanny Lifetime Reward to get better at handling and befriending children.
 * Another Sim on the lot can help with this profession, especially the daycare Sim's own children if they're toddlers or older. If necessary, have someone in the household build a Plumbot with the RoboNanny trait chip for an extra helping hand with the toddlers.
 * Having the Nurturing and Family-Oriented traits are helpful in making Sims in the Daycare profession more successful.
 * If Sims live in an apartment or penthouse, the toddlers will be dropped off on the ground floor.
 * Placing a child in a crib actually seems to cause a rapid decline in the fun motive. The same goes with high chairs.
 * Children always have to do their homework before they leave, so it's good to help them finish it.
 * The Alchemy skill has the Vial of Potent Bliss, which fills social and fun needs in one use. You can throw these at the children that show up afterschool to completely fix those needs, saving a bunch of time.
 * Sometimes, children will come late due to after school activities. If you only have a couple minutes to raise their moods after they complete homework, use the Tell Tale interaction to keep everyone in a decent mood before parents arrive to pick them up.
 * If the children are recognisable townies that are playable, be wary not to set them to use a Windcarver as default; they will travel very slowly on them and it will be finish time by the time they arrive.
 * Children with a low hunger need will not eat food from your fridge. Cook a group meal and call them too it to raise everyone's (including your own) hunger need. Be careful though, as sometimes there won't be enough time after the meal for children to do their homework and raise their fun need.
 * Toddlers will never need to sleep. Therefore, cribs are not necessary in your center, except for the purpose of keeping the toddlers in one place.
 * A good tip is to always have something already cooked in your fridge before the children arrive, then you won't have to spend a lot of time cooking it instead of helping the kids with their homework.
 * If you have a butler, he/she will be very useful, because one of a butler's tasks is to help take care of Children.
 * A toddler's hunger need is very predictable. He/she will get hungry every couple of hours. So, to make everyone's life a little easier, feed all the children at the same time. That way, they'll all be on the same feeding schedule, and when one child gets hungry, you'll know that everyone else will be getting hungry soon as well.
 * Toddlers have strange mood swings. It's as if one their needs suddenly plummets right after you fulfill it. A toddler might have an accident right after you change them, or feel hungry right after you feed them. Therefore, it is important that you don't assume a child with a great mood will stay that way. Check on children's moods as often as you can.
 * Potty training is very difficult, because you can't detect the toddler's bladder need. A child who isn't potty trained will have one to two accidents a day, generally after feedings, whereas a potty trained child might not use the potty at all. If you want to avoid dirty diapers, make sure that you take a toddler to the potty no later than an hour after a feeding, if possible.
 * If you are frustrated when a problem child breaks all of your expensive stuff, keep them "off limits" by locking them in a room. Despite their ability to break anything and everything, problem children will not go through locked doors.
 * Never tell a problem child to "go play" or "encourage to improve skills". He/she will not heed your commands, and will continue their endless rampage of destruction. Instead, start a fun group activity, and invite the child to join. Then you can leave and attend to other children, without worrying about broken stuff.
 * Thinking of hiring a babysitter to help out? Think again! Babysitters will only respond to urgent needs. Once all the children have good or great moods, babysitters will not do anything useful, and will just get in your way. Make sure you only hire a babysitter when it is absolutely necessary, and that you fire them when they start to overstay their welcome. Other Sims in the household help out 10 times as much as a babysitter, and they don't cost §75 a day!
 * Teaching toddler skills helps your experience bar, especially in the earlier levels of this profession. Don't expect to teach all of the toddlers all three skills though! Once you have more than 4 kids at your center, you'll be lucky if you can teach a toddler one of the skills.
 * The most helpful skill to teach a toddler is potty training. Once you potty train a toddler, you can say goodbye to dirty diapers once and for all! (Or at least until a new toddler arrives at your center) Even though stinky potty chairs can lower your mood, you can focus on other things instead of diapers.
 * On the flip side, teaching several toddlers to talk, especially if their parents are a permanent part of your neighborhood, can help their relationships and free up time your daycare provider would otherwise have to spend on socializing with them. They will often talk over the blocks table, at the dollhouse or if they're in close proximity to each other while playing with toys from the toy box.
 * Having a Master Inventor scatter Floor Hygenators all over the daycare can do the toddler's hygiene work for you as they move around.
 * With such long hours, it's a miracle your Sim has any time to sleep during the day. If your Sim is constantly going stir crazy, consider replacing one of their traits with the Hates the Outdoors trait. You're Sim can stay at home infinitely without suffering a -15 blow to their mood bar. Alternatively, alternate the work between two Heavy Sleepers who both have Sleeping Bags and the Meditative Trance Sleep LTR.
 * If you are at level four or above, you're probably wondering what you need to buy for the older children. The answer is: not much. Don't buy expensive playground equipment or a bunch of new toys. Children are at your center for 3 hours. So, if they barely have enough time to do their homework, what makes you think that they will have time to use all of your equipment?
 * Is your Sim low on cash? Think about joining other careers. With all that you are spending on toys and other things, it's generally a good idea to wait until you have enough funds to do so without going broke.
 * When you're in a bad mood, you usually don't want to do work. The same applies to the children in your center. A general rule of thumb is that if a child has a bad or really terrible mood, they will not do their homework. Raising the child's mood quickly is key to having enough time left to do homework.
 * Even though you can't detect a toddler's bladder need, there are some signs that it might be Potty Time. First of all, if it's been more than half an hour since he/she ate, you should consider taking that child to the toilet. However, if the child is described as being smelly (shown in black), that is a red flag that the toddler will have an accident within the next couple of minutes. Race to the potty before it's too late!
 * If you want to keep your toddlers and children in one place, only put toys and tables in one room. Toddlers will always sneak away to other toys, and children seem to want to do their homework everywhere and anywhere. If this is not possible for some reason, keep all doors to other places locked.
 * Toddlers like to steal. Especially from your toy box. Unless you teach them how to walk, when the toddler is crawling away to play with his/her toy, it will go in his/her inventory. If you pick them up before they remove the toy from their inventory, you will never see that toy again. If this is becoming a problem, either open the toy box and drag the toys out on the floor, or just delete it.