Parents' Guide to

The Sims 4: Growing Together

By Chad Sapieha, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 12+

Expansion pack focuses on kids, their families, and growth.

Game Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 2023
The Sims 4: Growing Together shows a family outside with a father holding a baby in a backpack and a mom watching her daughter riding a bike.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • A family is outside in a yard playing on slides and swings in a screenshot from The Sims 4: Growing Together.
  • Sims walk outside in a park on a sunny day in a screen from The Sims 4: Growing Together.
  • Grandparents and a mother cheer on a young girl as she rides her bike in a park in The Sims 4: Growing Together.

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What’s It About?

THE SIMS 4: GROWING TOGETHER adds to the popular life simulator's extensive collection of paid add-ons that cater to players' specific interests by providing extensive upgrades to the way the game handles child Sims. You can start by creating an avatar and buying a home in this DLC's (downloadable content) brand new town of San Sequoia, a laid back coastal village with a trio of neighborhoods, a beautiful park, a quaint movie theater, and lots of amenities designed for kids, including a splash pad, library, and fishing spot. As your Sim gets set up with a career and begins meeting other Sims, you'll encounter some of the expansion's new features and obstacles, from family moving in to bumps along the road in your job. But the biggest additions revolve around social compatibility, kids, and family dynamics. Infants and toddlers will reach various milestones in their development that will make you proud to see them grow, and they'll begin to exhibit natural quirks that you'll need to contend with, from being a little bit gassy to a snuggly sleeper. Returning players will notice several kinds of fresh interactions as family members settle into their roles, with older members tending to spoil and impart life lessons to kids the way grandparents always do, while parents tire themselves dealing with crying fits and dirty diapers. All Sims, regardless of age, will need to contend with new social compatibility features designed to enhance the idea that some people just naturally get along while others don't. The idea here is that no one is beloved by all or loves everyone, and working out ways to coexist is key. It's largely the same game on the surface, but these fresh family dynamics and social polarities are meant to make for a more complex and realistic simulation.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say Not yet rated
Kids say (1):

If families and kids are what interest you most about the Sims, this is the expansion pack for you. The Sims 4: Growing Together dives into the details of what family life is all about, centering it on the thing that tends to unify and drive families forward: Kids. Kids have long been a part of the Sims experience, but with this add-on they feel more realistic than ever, developing personality traits and quirks that make them feel like real children. They now have their own dreams and aspirations, such as becoming a playtime captain or creative genius, and their relationships with siblings, parents, and friends are more nuanced. Parents and caregiving Sims need to be mindful of infants' and toddlers' happiness and confidence, walking that fine line that lies between gentle scolding to teach valuable life lessons and being so authoritarian that you stamp out their independence and keep them from reaching their full potential as children and, later, adults. It's a tough job, made all the tougher as your Sims try to juggle career obligations, try to successfully socialize (a task made more challenging by the new social compatibility features), and deal with other family members exerting their own influence. But there's also loads of fun to be had with the little ones as you play with them in new ways as they learn to ride bikes, play in treehouses, get carried around in backpacks, and have slumber parties.

And there's a whole new world to explore, too. San Sequoia is a beautiful little burg, clearly modeled after coastal California towns. Exploring its neighborhoods is apt to make players a little envious of this idyllic setting, which is eco-minded and has loads of ways to enjoy nature, from jogging and playing in the park to socializing and doing puzzles at the local rec center. Even if you've put countless hours into The Sims 4 already, starting afresh in this new town and trying the new family-oriented features feels like a delightful next act in which past mistakes are washed away, giving you a chance to start over. The Sims 4: Growing Together fleshes out the game's family functionality, making EA's popular life simulator feel more authentic -- and more wholesome -- than ever before.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about advertising in games. The Sims 4: Growing Together is just one of several expansions players are encouraged to buy for The Sims 4, so how do you decide whether or not an expansion is worth buying and whether it will meaningfully improve your game experience?

  • Families come in all shapes, colors, and compositions, so how do you define what your family is and who is a part of it?

Game Details

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