Last updated: 3 July 2026
Sims 4: How to Age Up — All Life Stages
Aging in The Sims 4 can feel either too fast or frustratingly stuck, depending on what you want. This guide covers every way to age a Sim up — cakes, cribs, and cheats — walks through all eight life stages, and shows how to control the lifespan so your family ages at exactly the pace you like.
To age up a Sim, bake a cake and add birthday candles (oven → Cook → Cake → Add Candles), then have the Sim blow them out — younger Sims need adult help, and a crib or high chair has its own Age Up option. To skip the wait, use the sims.age_up cheat on the selected Sim, or testingcheats true then cas.fulleditmode to change age in Create-A-Sim. There are eight life stages from Newborn to Elder, and you can slow or stop aging entirely in Game Options.
01The Eight Life Stages
Sims progress through eight stages, each lasting a set number of days on the normal lifespan:
- Newborn — the bassinet stage, fully dependent on adults.
- Infant — crawling stage with its own skills and needs.
- Toddler — walking and talking; builds toddler skills.
- Child — school, child skills, and aspirations.
- Teen — part-time jobs and teen social life.
- Young Adult — the prime stage for careers and family.
- Adult — continues careers; aging starts to show.
- Elder — the final stage, ending eventually in death by old age.
Exact day lengths per stage depend on your lifespan setting and can change with patches — check the values in your own game.
02Aging Up With a Birthday Cake
The classic, no-cheat way to age up is a birthday celebration:
- Use an oven or stove → Cook → Cake (or buy a cake from Build/Buy).
- Click the finished cake → Add Birthday Candles.
- Have the Sim Blow Out Candles — they age up to the next stage with a small celebration.
- For babies and toddlers who cannot do it alone, an adult selects 'Help Blow Out Candles' / Age Up for them.
Cake age-ups give a happy 'Birthday' moodlet. You can also throw a Birthday Party event for guests and rewards, but a simple cake is all you need.
03Aging Up From the Crib & High Chair
Newborns, infants and toddlers have a faster option that does not need a cake:
- Newborn / Infant: click the bassinet or crib → More Choices → Age Up.
- Toddler: the same Age Up option appears once they are ready to advance.
- This is the quickest legit way to move very young Sims along without baking.
- A Sim must usually be near the end of their current stage for the Age Up option to appear without cheats.
04Aging Up With Cheats
If you want to skip the wait entirely, cheats handle it. Open the console (Ctrl+Shift+C):
sims.age_up— advances the currently selected Sim to the next life stage instantly.- CAS route: type
testingcheats true, thencas.fulleditmode, then Shift+Click the Sim → Modify in CAS and change their age there — useful for fine control or to make a Sim younger. - Shift+Click the Sim (with cheats on) for quick age-related options.
- Cheating the age does not harm the save, but enabling cheats disables achievements for that session.
05Controlling Lifespan & Stopping Aging
If Sims are aging too fast — or you want them frozen — change the lifespan globally:
- Game Options → Gameplay: set lifespan to Short, Normal, or Long, or toggle auto-aging off entirely.
- You can disable aging for the played household only, or for unplayed households too, separately.
- Long lifespan is popular for Legacy and storytelling saves where you want time to play out each stage.
- Reward-store traits like Long Lived extend a single Sim's lifespan without changing the global setting.
FAQ
How do you age up a Sim in Sims 4?
Bake a cake on an oven (Cook → Cake), click it to Add Birthday Candles, and have the Sim Blow Out Candles to advance to the next life stage — babies and toddlers need an adult to help. For very young Sims you can also click the crib → More Choices → Age Up. To skip the wait, use the sims.age_up cheat on the selected Sim after opening the console with Ctrl+Shift+C.
What is the age up cheat in Sims 4?
The quickest cheat is sims.age_up, which advances the selected Sim to the next life stage instantly after you open the console with Ctrl+Shift+C. For more control, type testingcheats true, then cas.fulleditmode, then Shift+Click the Sim and choose Modify in CAS to set their exact age — this also lets you make a Sim younger, which sims.age_up cannot do.
What are the life stages in Sims 4?
There are eight life stages: Newborn, Infant, Toddler, Child, Teen, Young Adult, Adult, and Elder. Each lasts a set number of days based on your lifespan setting, and Sims advance either naturally, via a birthday cake, through the crib Age Up option, or with cheats. Elders eventually die of old age unless aging is turned off.
How do you stop Sims from aging in Sims 4?
Go to Game Options → Gameplay and turn off auto-aging, or set the lifespan to Long for a slower pace. You can disable aging for just your played household or for unplayed households separately. The Long Lived reward-store trait extends one Sim's lifespan without changing the global setting, which is handy for keeping a single key character around longer.
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