Child

The Child life stage exists in both The Sims and The Sims 2.

The Sims

Childhood in The Sims can either be the state that a Sim was created in, or attained after 72 game hours as a baby. Children do not grow into adults, and can't gain skill points. Children attend school every day to maintain good grades (they can also study from a bookcase, which prevents them from losing grades when they miss school). Child Sims whose grades remain at F for too long are sent to military school and never return.

The Sims 2

Childhood is the third life stage in The Sims 2, and it lasts for 8 days. Children all still have the same Grow up aspiration they had as Toddlers, but the wants and fears are different. For the first time, making friends is important, as is being taught to study by an older relative. The school day for kids is 9AM to 3PM, Monday to Friday. Like the original, children whose grades are consistently poor are removed from the family by the social worker (who can also take them away if their hunger or social motives are too low), but can later be adopted by other families.

Unlike the original, TS2 children can earn skill points. They can ask for (or be offered) lessons in all the original career reward items, and even use some of them independently. Children can't cook unless they use the toy oven, but they can still study cooking from a bookcase.