How to Create a Daycare Business in Your Sims’ Home

Running a daycare out of your Sims’ house is a fun way to add extra income and even more chaos (the good kind) to your gameplay. With The Sims™ 4 Businesses & Hobbies Expansion Pack, you can transform any residential lot into a welcoming space for toddlers to learn, play and grow.

Although this Expansion Pack doesn’t include a built-and-ready daycare venue, but with a little creativity you can use the retail business system to turn any empty lot into a thriving childcare center.

Here’s how to set one up step by step.

But first, a special thanks to the EA Creator Network for giving me access to this cool expansion pack and making this post possible.

---

What You’ll Need

• The Sims 4: Businesses & Hobbies Expansion Pack
• A spare room in your home lot
• Build-Mode items: cribs, toddler toys, seating, decorations, etc
  • Daycare! CC Pack: To give your childcare center even more personality and function, check out my Daycare! CC Pack for The Sims 4. This cc pack adds 30 brand-new items designed just for daycare venues, bright toddler chairs, playful rugs, stackable learning blocks and a base-game compatible changing station.

---

Design Your Daycare Space

• Go into Build Mode on your home lot
• Zone the daycare area as Public so toddlers, parents and your employees can enter freely.
• Place nap mats, play mats, toys and your base-game changing station, etc
• Add seating for waiting parents or caregivers
• Remember to lock the doors in your house, so you don’t get random guests wandering into the kitchen.

Remember to leave enough room for toddlers to wander safely without bumping into each other or walls.

---

Set Up Your Business

1. In Live Mode, click the Owned Businesses tab (cash-register icon, bottom right) and choose Register Small Business or use your Sim’s phone → Business app → Register Small Business.
2. Give your daycare a name, a description and select a logo.
3. Because a Daycare business isn’t one of the default options, you’ll need to get a little creative and choose activities that make sense for it, like playing with toys, being friendly, interacting with toddlers, etc.
4. In the target and customers section, select infants and toddlers.

---

Hire and Schedule Your Caregivers

1. Open My Businesses → Manage Employees.
2. Hire any eligible Sim who has high Parenting, Creativity or Social skills (those traits help toddlers learn faster and stay calm)
3. Add the tasks you want the employees to do. In this case, it’s super important to include take care of little Sims. You can also add that they should be friendly, and if you want them to prepare food while the kids are there, make sure to add cooking too.

You can also work as a caregiver yourself, just assign your Sim to a shift and control them directly during business hours.

---

Open for Business

• In My Businesses, click Open when you’re ready to start the day’s sessions.
• Parents will arrive with their toddlers. Greet them at the registration desk and let the check-in process happen automatically.
• Toddlers will explore the play zone—make sure toys stay clean and you have at least one caregiver per four toddlers to avoid low service ratings.

Keep an eye on the daycare’s reputation meter (green is good).

---

Which Perks Work Best for a Daycare?

Because parents aren’t checking out retail shelves, a daycare shines when it builds rapport and squeezes out those extra tips:

1. Inspiring Business Story (Dreamer column)
   • Active perk: your Sim can “Share Business Story,” boosting customer (parent) relationships and bringing families back more often.
2. Leave a Tip? (Neutral column)
   • Passive perk: happy parents will sometimes tack on an extra tip when they pay for childcare.

With your 2 Perk Points you could take both of these right away. As your daycare levels up you’ll unlock the next-tier perks (like Going Viral or Employee Bonus) to drive even more buzz or keep your caregivers running smoothly​

---

Close and review

• When you’re done for the day, hit Close Business in the Owned Businesses menu.
• Review your end-of-day report, collect profits, then reopen whenever you’re ready for another shift.

---

Need extra help and inspiration?

Here are two of my favorite videos that show creative approaches to Sims 4 daycare builds, operations and limitations: OshinSims and Lilsimsie.

Tips for Success

• Target activities: Place learning toys like stacking blocks to keep toddlers busy and make your shift easier.
• Staff Breaks: Make sure caregivers have a back-room area with a comfy chair and water.
• Buy more toys: As you earn profits, invest in higher-quality play items.
• Add Snacks: Place a small counter or fridge stocked with toddler snacks.
• Expand Hours: Once your reputation hits three stars, extend business hours or add a second shift to boost revenue.
• Decor Themes: Change wall colours or floor patterns seasonally, for example, pastel spring motifs or autumn leaves, to keep parents intrigued 🤣

---

With a little planning and creativity, you can turn your Sims’ living room or spare bedroom into a thriving daycare business. It’s a great way to build Parenting skills, earn extra Simoleons and watch the cutest Sims of all learn and play.

Give it a try in your next save, your household’s balance sheets (and your heart) will thank you!

---

💬 Stay connected with me on social media:
📸 Instagram, Bluesky, Tiktok: @sixamcc
🎮 Use my EA Creator Code SIXAMCC when purchasing EA titles to support my work at no extra cost. Thank you so much for your support!