Addressing Parental concerns for Sims 2

Addressing Parental concerns for Sims 2

My daughter is interested in upgrading to Sims2 but we (her parents) have concerns regarding the following:

1. Same sex marriage (and Whoo-hoo) is allowed
2. Sex outside of marriage is allowed
3. Grim Reaper, and those who die can re-appear as ghost and haunt houses.

Is there any patch or mod available to address these concerns? We've seen the Family Run version but it doesn't seem to fully address these issues

thanks in advance,

 

Since The Sims 2 is rated T for Teen for certain "features" in the game, I'm not quite sure there's an official Maxis/EA patch to "fix" these things. The only thing that I could suggest is to have aging off so your daughter's Sims don't die and you make sure your daughter does not use the beds for woohooing purposes. You could also ask a Sims mod website to make a mod to fix these concerns.

 

Some parents use the game to educate their children. Depends on the age of the children. And as Chee-Z said, it is rated for teens. I suggest either playing the game with the child (whenever my children watched TV I watched it with them so that we could talk about scenes that took me by surprise ) or buy another game.

 

IMHO, the only effective "parental control" patch that works...is to patch yourself in a chair next to your kid while she is on the computer.

The sims won't do any romantic interactions beyond a soap opera style kiss without being told to do so and to do that they have to already be in love. Their sexual orientation is decided by the gender of the first sim they flirt with, which they will only do upon your orders. Assuming that she is like most kids, your daughter won't order her sims do do anything like that while you are in the room...too embarrassing.

As for Grimmy and the ghosts, as Chee-Z pointed out you can turn off aging to stop death due to old age but that won't save your sims from being electrocuted, getting a lethal flu bug, or burning up in a kitchen fire. If she plays long enough some of he sims will die. If you are there with her this is an excellent chance for you to discuss with her your beliefs concerning the circle of life. If the concept of ghosts goes against your beliefs and you don't want her exposed to them you can sell the tombstones/urns as soon as they appear for the dead sim. Ghosts in the game are "tied" to their tombstones/urns and take a few days to start haunting, so selling their tombstones means no ghosts.

My final advice would be for you to play the game for awhile yourself before you let her try it. That way you can judge for yourself whether it is something you would want her to play with. Chances are you'll get hooked on the game yourself, which should seriously curtail her access to it!

 

I agreew ith all the above. The game is rated suitable for teens in almost all markets. Without third party modifications there is nothing inappropriate for even a child to see ... and such mods can only be gotten from the internet and so WereBear's advice is not just good it is foolishness to ignore. You strike me as a good parent, ecworks, because you are taking the trouble to research what you need to know. All parenting decisions are highly personal and one viewpoint is not necessarily better than any other. As a parent it is impossible to watch over your kids every moment but taking the time to research resources such as WorldSims will not just help you to arrive at a decision but also know how to police your daughter's use of the game (for example it is very easy to check if a child is adding custom content to the game without actually playing it).

If your daughter is 13+ I would recommend the game. Some of the sim situations are both very funny as well as being good material for social education and personal development. I don't know what your part of the world is like, but I suspect it may well be similar to mine and most folks. Todays teenagers have rather less opportunity than did yours and my generaration for informal gatherings and to gain from such social activities those necessary social skills ... such is the outcome of increased crime (or the parents' fear of it) and the ever more dangerous roads. (Anyone wanna admit allowing their kid to cycle any distance, these days? )

One snippet you might find useful though is this:

The Sims 2 is available on consoles such as PS2 etc. These are rather more limited both in customisation (zero potential for that!) and also a bit lighter on the more <ahem> biological aspects. Also you should be aware that the PC version requires a quite highly rated computer and that trying to run the game on a low-end machine can be -- at best -- disappointing.

The death/ghost thing is nothing to worry about in my opinion. It is extremely cartoonish and quite amusing ... though I do miss some of my own sims when they shuffle off whatever passes for a simortal coil

Hope all this helps!

 

I agree that the ghosts are no more scary than those on the average television cartoon.

Death can be avoided as mentioned above, but if your kid is old enough it can also prove a good basis for discussion of the real thing. Sims cannot kill each other, in this way the game is much more kid-friendly than most games out there. Sims can die by various accidental methods, or from old age. My eight-year-old freaked out when a sim died by kitchen fire. We had just started playing and I didn't realize it could happen. Now she just makes sure all of her kitchens have sprinkers and fire alarms and runs out of the room if a fire starts. I put them out for her.

But trust me, she's not scarred for life.

As for same-sex woohoo, you control your sims. Unless you make them flirt with the same sex, they won't do it. As far as I can tell they're mostly "straight" by default.

I could get up on my soapbox here and point out that knowing about same-sex love will not change your kid one way or the other. The kid is already "baked." However, showing a loving and open-minded attitude will mean that if your kid IS gay he or she will know they can come to you, rather than doing something drastic. Just my opinion.

Anyway, the game is a great teaching tool. My daughter has already learned that you should never have more kids than you can care for. Sims with more than two kids or so show the strain!

The game also teaches budgeting your money, the importance of working hard at your job, and gives a fairly tame introduction to grown-up issues like kissing, dating, marriage and the like. I think it should be used in schools as part of their "getting ready for the real world" classes.

But I agree with Mirelly. If you have a low-end computer the game doesn't perform nearly as well. I've had to do a lot of upgrading. If you're not interested in making that kind of investment you may want to try the playstation version or the like.

 

Good point. Kudos to youu. Knowledge of same sex relationships at a young age makes for an open-minded adult.

 

EC, I'm a parent and I allow my son to play the game. He is 15, however. There is nothing in the game that he's not already been exposed to in PG-rated movies, television, or Jr. High School Health Class. The game has actually showed him the importance of responsibility after a few of his sims were fired, had their children removed, died of hunger, etc.

My 6 year old daughter and I play together. I make sure and do nothing that would be too "educational" when she is watching. She likes helping me decorate sim-children's rooms, dress them, and make them play. She gets the giggles when I make the sim-children play cops and robbers or blow bubbles.

I guess I'm just echoing what everyone else has already said: It depends on your chid's age and what she has been exposed to already. Also, I'm sure you're already on top of this, but a child should never have access to a computer in their room with the door shut! There are just too many things that can happen that are way worse than your child making homosexual sims. Lastly, know your child. I know my son's style of play is creating sims and working on their job performance. He could care less about his sims social lives. I know this because I regularly watch him, and I also regularly check his sims's memories and needs. Even when I'm not watching, his sims go around pining away for a friend, and there is not a single "Woo Hoo" in their memories. In other words, he couldn't care less. He's just not into relationships. Your daughter may want the game because she wants to build and decorate houses, or maybe she wants to play "house" by putting her sims into grown-up roles such as parent or business owner.

 

No offence, but I kinda find this offensive, I understand you are a concerned parent, but you should realize thier is nothing wrong with Gays/Lesbians, they are just us, like Straights, I am sorry if I sound rude but I fo0und this quote offensive.

Woohoo is barely shown anyway, it just two figures moving under a blanket, let me tell you know, they aren't even doing anything, I did a experiment for a Whoohoo in car/dresser/photo booth and they are just sitting thier doing nothing, so there nothing there. Um, your daughter controls the sims thought, she doesn't have to have the same sex marriage, she can choose who they are with (Call it a arranged marriage).

They don't do these on thier own,. Okay Two sims who are exremely in love, in bed at the same time, and already done it might Woohoo on thier own, but techinally she has to make them do it first.

 

Willow what you said was offensive to me.

When I first got the game the same sex marriage option was something that caused me to consider not getting the game. But knowing Maxis from TS1 days I figured they would not force me to have same sex couples in my game. Fortunately I was right.

I have very firm beliefs and opions about homosexuality but I choose not to discuss them here because I know many of the people who post here do not agree with me. When I first started posting here and realized that I had to make a choice. I could either make it an issue and end up in useless arguements or I could give you the freedom to have your own opions.

I realized a long time ago that I will not be held responsible for your opinions or beliefs. I may not agree with your beliefs or opions but you do have a right to them. I can not expect you to live by my moral standards or beliefs. But you can not expect someone else to live by yours either.

What you said sounded to me like you are offended because that person doesn't share your beliefs or opinions. It sounds like you expect that person to be tolerant of your beliefs and opinions but you shouldn't have to tolerate theirs.

Ruth

 

Ruthie and Willow. You both make good points for your respective opinions. I hope that you both are also able to see the funny side of your antagonistic positions (word chosen to signify your poles-apart views rather than intending to imply that either of you is spoiling for a fight).

You each begin by asserting that you have taken offense in regard to the other's expression of opinion. You each make a point of your acknowledgement of the other's right to self-determination. Then Ruth's argument implodes in the concluding paragraph (Willow's argument imploded because it wasn't properly composed and therefore the reader is compelled either to ignore it completely ... which is what I did; or else the reader is free to make up their own meaning and thereby divine the intentions, thoughts, morals ... every detail, in fact, of the writer's soul. Ruth fell into that very quagmire and her carefully chosen words leave us in no doubt that she is oblivious to the irony contained in her final paragraph.

I have absolutely no idea at all what Willow's motivation actually was (or is) and I refuse to make my own conclusions for the want of evidence. I thought that Willow's complaint was mostly harmless; mostly because it was badly drafted, poorly expressed and full of holes. Ruthies' contribution to the debate adds nothing except speculative conjecture ... unless we count the fact that in the field of ethics (morals, theology, sociology, philosophy &Co.) those who stand as far apart as they can get on any one issue are often people with same basic type of internal ethics. They do expect everyone to tolerate their beliefs and they don't expect to have to tolerate the beliefs of others ... though they will go to an awful lot of trouble to tell you that they do.

Isn't lying unethical ...?

 

yes those options bout having gsy/les sims is something u control,if u want u can go on when shes not just to check.


woo-hoo isnt really u know what,its just blankets moving around pretty much,again u can control this

cheating marrige u can control this too.

when i was 10 i used to play ts1 and i turned out ok(i think )

 

I think so, too, Metalhead.

Ouch. Skinned alive in a public forum. I have always been thankful that there are no cameras showing my reaction to things said in some of these threads. I am a very emotional person and often overreact, either pacing the house all in a snit or using up a box of tissues while shedding embarrassed tears. Then I put on a brave face and sit back down to the keyboard.

Although I'm inclined to avoid expressing my opinions because I have neither the wit nor the education to do it properly (suggesting I should not be allowed to have any) I do want to add my support of the Sims2 game.

What is most admirable is that tolerance and kindness are rewarded. All the sims want out of life is to give love and be loved. Also rewarded are a clean house, taking baths, hugging your children, doing homework, eating good meals regularly. How could any parent object to any of this? The game is vastly superior to all others on the market. And before you outlaw computer games completely give some thought to the misinformation and bad advice that kids pass around to each other on the playground. I laugh now at what I believed as a kid and think it would have been better if my parents had planted me in front of a computer instead.

But I sympathize. It's a nasty world and you want to protect them from it as long as possible.

 

LOL I know what you mean about the embarrassment thing, Lynet. There have been many times when I have been ashamed of what I have posted and many others when I have been so glad that no-one can see how red I can get when I am exposed as an idiot for writing rubbish. We all have opinions but I must confess to liking the oft cited aphorism of a certain Brit talkradio personality for whom I have a a lot of respect; he says: "anyone can have an opinion, but being entitled to it is another matter". To rephrase that: to be able fully to own an opinion one must be perfectly satisfied that you can win a debate for the opposition ... it's the old walk a mile in the other guy's boots thang.

As a moderator I let Willow's argument pass without comment because it was not my place to add comment, for comment's sake; I had no strong views on her opinion one way or other. However when Ruthie jumped into the fray with her counter-umbrage -- well written though it was -- I felt I could not stand by and see poor Willow being trounced for no obvious fault. The school-marmy matron in me did a righteously indignant hitch at the overstuffed blouse front and banged both their heads together ...

The big question is: do I feel, many hours later, that I might have phrased any of it less abrasively? Answer: yes.

Do I regret that? Yes.

Does it matter? Not to me because I have gained enough experience and maturity to know that it doesn't. If anyone else has a problem I suggest there's a door in your abode that leads to something called "outside" ... try going there and having something called a life

 

Whereas I thought it best to remain silent because I do have very strong feelings on the subject but am old enough to know that hitting someone over the head with my beliefs won't change theirs.

But I feel compelled to speak now, because sometimes silence is cowardice.

My strongest problem with any of this is, you don't like gays? So what. There are lots of things that people do that I don't like or approve of but I don't think it's my place to tell them they can't. Saying someone else doesn't have the same right to happiness and legal protection that you do just because you think they're in the wrong is bigotry.

My (white) brother is married to a black woman. Fifty years ago they would have been jailed for that. In some parts of the world that's still a big taboo, but thankfully not where I live. They have a good, strong marriage and love each other, and their daughter, very much. I frankly don't see the difference, no matter which people you plop into this scenario.

It's none of your business. That's what living in a free society is all about.

 

That said, if you don't want to include same-sex marriage in your sims game, well, that's none of MY business.

I do think we should be tolerant of one another, regardless of views. But I also think we should feel free to say what we think, as long as it stays civil.

 

Staying civil seems to be the hard part. I worry sometimes exactly because we can't see each other. We can't see who laughs and who cries and who throws things. And we can't see if someone is handicapped or bedridden or otherwise scarred by life events. There could be serious consequences to things we say. And we might never know it.

OK, my husband is home. Gots to cook him dinner.

 

Crikey, Lynet, that's a depressing looking avatar ... makes me wanna throw myself off a thick carpet

I agree that is so but I do not consider it a reason for self-censorship. Sometimes an issue screams out for debate and sometimes the protagonists need to be reined in and reminded that argument is a logical series of propositions; not just 't is 't isn't 't is so 't is not! I only got involved (I say more to remind myself because I feel dangerously defensive as if I feel I am somehow in the wrong) because I wished to point out to both parties that their arguments were like a pair of bottom-sniffing dogs ... neither one has any functional existence without the other.

If homosexuality did not exist then there would be no anathema surrounding the space in ethics that it otherwise fills; likewise, without the anathema same-sex relationships would pass beneath the notice of the mainstream of society. There's a deliciously Newtonian dimension to the whole raft of dogmatic polarised ethical warzones: the one about action and reaction being equal and opposite. The more force you apply to stop (or promote) your bete noire/cause celebre the more the opposition applies resistance to change. Ultimately there is a danger that one side will win. I cannot think of a single major contemporary ethical dilemna that I would wish to see "solved" by either of its antagonists winning the day. I could go on and on but it would just get tedious. Just believe that when enough pressure is applied something breaks and breakage is bad; breakage leads to BFBVFS.

 

*Blinks* I didn't think my view would make a topic out of it.
Ruthie- I am sorry if I offended you, that was not my intention, nor was to offend the topic creator. It just when I hear someone say something like a homophobia comment, it makes me so mad. I am a firm believer in love, that anyone can love. Sure, a 5 year old and 50 year old? That not love, that rape and gross. But a 17 year old with a 22 year old? Not really, and same sex?, if people would just leave them alone then we probably be at peace (First if a thousand other things were gone too). I am straight but a firm supporter.
Lynet- You seem very familiar, the name I mean, do you go to MTS2? (Modthesims2)

BTw, I wasn't upset, okay maybe a little annoyed and mad at the topic creator which lasted like only 5 mins as I moved on when I went someone else. And I was more surprised to see the responses to my post.
I hope I didn't make you too upset Ruthie, and that not my intention...You are a girl aren't you? (Your name, I think tells us that, maybe I am wrong thought), the point of that is that I hate upsetting girls, seriously, it just bascially hurting them and I don't like doing that either.

And I am a guy by the way.


Edit: Lynet- Good point, you never know if people are upset, The only way of knowing is if they told you that. So you made a good point their..