Teen

Teen, or teenager, is the fourth life stage of a Sim in The Sims 2, The Sims Stories, The Sims 3, and The Sims 4. It succeeds the child life stage and precedes the young adult or adult life stage. Teens are not included in the console games based on The Sims 2, The Sims Bustin' Out, and The Sims Medieval.

The teen life stage is not present in The Sims, as Sims in this game do not age. Players can download custom head and body skins which can give a Sim the appearance of being a teen.

The life stage is featured in The Sims FreePlay with the Teenagers update, in which pre-teens can grow up to the teen life stage by completing a certain quest. Prior to the update, Sims can only grow as far as the pre-teen life stage. Sims in this life stage can be enrolled in high school.

In The Sims 2, The Sims Stories, and The Sims FreePlay, the name of the life stage is called "Teenager" while The Sims 3, The Sims 3 for consoles, and The Sims 4 simply calls them "Teen". However, the manuals and help messages for The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories refers to them as "Teen". In game, the teen life stage represents a Sim's life from approximately age 12 or 13 to approximately age 17 or 18.

Physiology
Teen Sims in The Sims 2 are taller than children, but shorter than adults and young adults. The teen life stage lasts for 15 days although Teens can be aged up earlier if they go to college.

Some teens will develop acne if their hygiene motive falls too low. Teens will act frightened when they gussy up, and an option to "use acne cream" will appear when using a mirror. Notably, if one of a teen's close relatives (such as a parent or sibling) has or once had acne problems, the teen is significantly more likely to get acne too. Teens can also use gym equipment, and it becomes necessary in order to stay fit.

Teens in The Sims 2 are unique in that they can age up into one of two separate life stages: Young Adult or Adult. If University is installed, the player has the option to send a teen to college, where they will first live as a young adult; otherwise they will skip ahead to the adult stage.

Things that teens can do that younger life stages can't:


 * Get acne.
 * Build all skills
 * Take full care of babies and toddlers.
 * Get a part-time job
 * Pay bills
 * Cook meals
 * Have romantic relationships
 * Sneak out
 * Go out
 * Teach a toddler their toddler skills
 * Live on their own if parents die or move out


 * Drive cars
 * Not be taken away by the social worker
 * Check themselves out in a mirror
 * Die from more things other than from drowning, fire or satellite.
 * Male Sims can have facial hair
 * Going steady
 * Become a Zombie, Vampire, Witch or Werewolf.
 * Start a Business.
 * Get hired in a business
 * Partake in talents to gain badges.

Things that Teens can do that older Sims can't:
 * Get acne
 * Go to school
 * Do homework
 * Check themselves out in a mirror
 * Sneak out
 * Go out
 * Going steady
 * Experience Grow Up's Aspiration failure, regardless of their own.

Personality
In The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories, when a child becomes a teenager, their aspiration can be chosen by the player. If Nightlife or later is installed, turn-ons and turn-offs are also assigned at this point. However, if the "age NPCs" feature of FreeTime is used to age a child townie to a teen, the player will not be able to choose that Sim's aspiration, turn-ons and turn-off.

Romance
The teen life stage may serve as an important period in a Sim's development, as Sims can begin to build their first romantic relationships from this point onwards. Most teen Sims will have a recurring want for their first kiss and to go steady with another Sim.

Without the use of mods or hacks, teens can perform all romantic interactions except WooHoo, Get Married, Propose Marriage, or Try for Baby, though they can still take care of existing babies and toddlers in the same way as older Sims. In The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories, their romantic relationships are restricted to other teens, and will be automatically broken if one teen ages up and the other does not. Teens are able to WooHoo and Try for Baby if the third party mods such as InTeenimater are installed.

Responsibilities and Privileges
Teens may begin to take on new responsibilities such as getting a part-time job after school or on the weekends, though they still cannot hold a full-time job. Like children, they must maintain good grades, and with The Sims 2: University, success at school and in skill building can earn valuable scholarship money for use during a Sim's college years. It is even possible for teens to run away if their relationship with their family is too low. Teens do not have curfews (and can remain on community lots for as long as they like.), but they can sneak out out of the house at night or take a responsible approach by asking grown-ups for permission to go out, before hitching a ride from a friend.

Physiology
Teen Sims in the The Sims 3 are taller than children, but shorter than adults and young adults. Unlike, The Sims 2, Teens do not have the option to age up early and attend college, instead growing up into Young Adults.

Things that teens can do that younger life stages can't:


 * Build all skills
 * Take full care of babies and toddlers.
 * Get a part-time job
 * Pay bills
 * Cook meals
 * Can partner and own companies
 * Have romantic relationships
 * Sneak out
 * Teach a toddler their toddler skills
 * Live on their own if parents die or move out
 * Drive cars
 * Learn to drive
 * Not be taken away by the social worker
 * Check themselves out in a mirror
 * Male Sims can have facial hair


 * Die by Electrocution
 * Die of Starvation
 * Die of the Mummy's Curse
 * Die by Traps
 * Die of Thirst
 * Graduate
 * Pull bigger pranks and sometimes get arrested from it.
 * Go to the prom
 * Snub other teen Sims
 * Teach a dog new tricks
 * Teach a dog to hunt
 * Ride a Horse
 * Create Street Art
 * Troll on Forum

Things that Teens can do that older Sims can't:
 * Pull pranks
 * Go to prom
 * Snub other teen Sims
 * Learn to drive
 * Go to school
 * Do homework
 * Throw a sleepover party
 * Attend an Afterschool activity
 * Check themselves out in a mirror(Flirty and Snob Sims only)

Things teens can't do that older Sims can:
 * WooHoo/Try for Baby
 * Get married
 * Have a full-time job
 * Adopt children
 * Get pregnant
 * Scold children/teens
 * Stay out past curfew without consequences

Personality
In The Sims 3 and The Sims 3 for consoles, teens have four traits and are able to choose from all of the available traits, unlike the younger life stages. Teens may also gain and potentially fulfill an early lifetime wish during this stage in the same manner as child Sims, though the player is not required to assign them lifetime wishes until they age up into young adults. Teens have four trait slots that the player can fill in; they add one trait when they age up. If Generations is installed, teens are offered a chance to defy parental authority by pulling pranks, holding a teenage party while their parents are away, or sneaking out while grounded. They may also randomly suffer from mood swings.

Romance
Without the use of mods or hacks, teens can perform all romantic interactions except WooHoo, Get Married, Propose Marriage, or Try for Baby, though they can still take care of existing babies and toddlers in the same way as older Sims. However, a teen dating another teen who ages up into a young adult will remain listed as their boyfriend or girlfriend, but romantic interactions between them will be disabled until the other teen has also aged up. This is the only legitimate way for a teenage Sim to have a romantic relationship with an older Sim.

Responsibilities and Privileges
Teens can take on new responsibilities such as getting a part-time job after school or on the weekends, though they still cannot hold a full-time job. Teens now can cook meals and drive a car. They can also live on their own if both parents die or if all the older Sims in the household move out of their home lot. In The Sims 3, if World Adventures is installed, teens can travel abroad by themselves. Also, Teens cannot be taken away by the Social Worker.

Teenage Sims have a later curfew of 11:00pm, which is an hour later than the curfew for child Sims. Teens who violate the curfew will also get the positive "Out after Curfew" moodlet while doing so, whereas children do not. Furthermore, teenage Sims may be caught violating curfew by the police, at which point they will be sent home and given the negative "Caught after Curfew" moodlet.

If Generations is installed, teens can graduate and attend a prom at their school. At the prom, they may choose to go alone or with a date, and graduation automatically occurs at the end of the teen life stage. If teens misbehave, then their parents have the opportunity to ground them.

Physiology
In The Sims 4, teens are the same height as adults and young adults, but have thinner frames, fewer body curves, and pudgier faces to indicate youth. Unlike previous games, teens have access to the same clothes and accessories as older life stages.

Unlike in The Sims 2, teens do not have the option to age up early and attend college, instead growing up into young adults.

Teens cannot die from emotional deaths; these death types are only available from the moment a Sim becomes a young adult.

Things that teens can do that younger life stages can't:


 * Build all skills except the parenting skill
 * Take full care of babies
 * Get a part-time job
 * Pay bills
 * Cook meals
 * Partner and own businesses
 * Give makeovers


 * Have romantic relationships
 * Live on their own
 * Not be taken away by the social worker
 * Die by electrocution
 * Die of starvation
 * Troll on the forums
 * Use life state powers

Things that teens can do that older Sims can't:
 * Go to school
 * Do homework
 * Exchange promise rings
 * Mess around (although young adults and older can WooHoo)
 * Have character values
 * Go through childhood phases
 * Have mood swings

Things that teens can't do that older Sims can:
 * Build the parenting skill
 * Get married
 * Try for a baby
 * Get a full-time job
 * Punish children/teens
 * Get pregnant
 * Adopt children
 * Die emotional deaths

Personality
In The Sims 4, just like in The Sims 2, teenagers' aspirations can be chosen by the player after they age up from a child. Teens have two trait slots to fill in unlike older life stages that have three; one trait is added when they age up from a child.

Romance
Without the use of mods or hacks, teens can perform all romantic interactions except WooHoo, Get Married, Propose Marriage, or Try for Baby, though they can still take care of existing babies and toddlers in the same way as older Sims. Even though teens can't WooHoo, they can still "Mess Around", which is similar, but they do it with their clothes on. Yet, oddly enough when two teens "Mess Around" together and then "WooHoo" as adults, they will not receive the "First WooHoo" moodlet which implies otherwise. The "Mess Around" interaction is also counted towards the number of times a Sim WooHoos. Teens can also exchange promise rings with their loved one. Also, teens can only become boyfriend/girlfriend with one another and won't go any further in their romantic relationship until they age up.

Responsibilities and Privileges
Teens may begin to take on new responsibilities such as getting a part-time job after school or on the weekends, though they still cannot hold a full-time job. Teens do not have curfews in the base game, and can remain on community lots for as long as they like. The Sims 4: Parenthood introduces curfews that can be set on a bulletin board for either 7:00PM, 9:00PM or 11:00PM, if the player so chooses. Ignoring hypothetical curfew will negatively impact their responsibility character value.