Are you tired of constantly taking care of your little one´s needs? Worry no more, I have gathered a list of items and mods that make baby- and toddler-raising even easier than it already is in the Sims 2 (and I know what I am talking about, I raised twins in RL).
Some basic observation first: Your toddler is selectable! Yes, indeed, you can click on your toddler´s icon and tell him or her to do certain things, like staying away from the cat food.
When I first started playing, I was not aware of this wonderful feature, and became really desperate when Cassandra Goth had her first child, and it would not stop splashing in the toilet.
Feeding
I never understood why Sims didn´t throw away the empty feeding bottles, but dropped them on the floor. TwoJeffs at Simbology invented the Self Exploding Bottles and a few other useful mods for baby care.
An alternative version would be Inge´s Bottomless Bottle at Simlogical.
I have no experiences with that, though.
Recently I discovered Beck´s Toddler Eating Table and Beck´s Toddler PicnicTableNChair.
Toddlers use it autonomously when they are hungry and also gain cooking skills. I noticed though that lazy toddlers rather like to starve then use it, so you have to check on them once in a while and direct them to eat.
Children are able to bake muffins in the Rip Co. Little Baker Oven which comes with the base game, and will do so once they are hungry. When they have used Beck´s Toddler Eating Table before and thus gained a few cooking points, the muffins will not be burnt and quite filling.
Potty
Toddler Potty Fix by TwoJeffs: Maids clean the potties, and adults can train toddlers if the potty is dirty. This only works on Maxis potties, as far as I am aware.
Sleeping
Really useful for babies are two other mods by Inge Jones:
Crib Fix - "This is for the problem of parents and nannies getting babies and toddlers out of one crib only to place them in another" and Toddlers sleep though the night patch. There is a whole bunch of other child-related mods on her page, too.
Another must have object is HugeLunatic´s Toddler Blanket Bed. Toddlers use it autonomously when they are tired, so no more "put toddler in crib" - "take toddler out of the crib" hassle. I delete my cribs as soon as baby has aged up, and place the blanket in the nursery. The animations are very cute, too.
Hygiene
A real god-send are xptl297´s Bathable Fountains, unless you decide to use TwoJeff´s "No playing with the toilet fix". Toddlers and children use the fountains autonomously after they have set the bathroom under water, or their hygiene has become low generally.
Others
A great toy is the Bits o Wood Garage by leefish, it builds mechanic skill and raises fun.
Two very useful mods that make child raising in Sims 2 much more enjoyable:
Infant & Toddler - No Puke Global Mod by Rebecah and Cuddle Infant - Comfort, Fun & Higher Relationship
These mods stop babies from puking on you when you play with them, and raise the adult´s comfort and fun meter during cuddling.
If you need more stuff for your offspring, a huge list of child-related objects can be found at the MTS Sims Wiki.
I hope you enjoyed this compilation. It is by no way complete, but these are the mods and items I use in my different hoods, and they work really well.
