Last updated: 2 November 2026

Sims 4: How to Age Up — All Life Stages

To age up a Sim in The Sims 4, bake a cake, add birthday candles and have the Sim blow them out: they move to the next life stage on the spot. Infants and toddlers need a teen or older Sim to carry them to the cake, elders can't be aged up with one, and newborns can also be aged up at any time with the Age Up interaction. There is no one-click age-up cheat; instead type testingcheats true and cas.fulleditmode, then Shift+Click the Sim and choose Modify in CAS to set any age. On Normal lifespan a Sim spends 1 day as a newborn, 5 as an infant, 7 as a toddler, 14 as a child, 21 as a teen, 28 as a young adult and 42 as an adult before turning elder.

01The Eight Life Stages and How Long They Last

Sims move through eight life stages. Each lasts a set number of in-game days that depends on the lifespan you pick in Game Options:

1. Newborn: tied to the bassinet, fully dependent on older Sims.
2. Infant: crawls and eats in a high chair.
3. Toddler: walks, talks and builds toddler skills.
4. Child: goes to school and builds child skills.
5. Teen: part-time jobs and teen social life.
6. Young Adult: careers, dating and starting a family.
7. Adult: the longest stage on every lifespan.
8. Elder: the final stage, ending in death by old age unless aging is off.

Days per stage (newborn / infant / toddler / child / teen / young adult / adult / elder):

• Short: 0.5 / 2.5 / 3.5 / 7 / 10.5 / 14 / 21 / 7+ (about 66 days in total)
• Normal: 1 / 5 / 7 / 14 / 21 / 28 / 42 / 14+ (about 132 days)
• Long: 4 / 20 / 28 / 56 / 84 / 112 / 168 / 56+ (about 528 days)

Once an elder's age bar fills, it can take up to 48 more hours before they die of old age. Elders with the Active or Long Lived trait get extra time.

02Aging Up With a Birthday Cake

Cakes can't be bought in Buy mode in The Sims 4; a Sim has to make one:

1. Click the fridge, open the cooking menu (not the baking one) and pick a cake. With the Dine Out pack you can also order one at a restaurant table.
2. Place the cake on a table or counter, click it and choose Add Birthday Candles.
3. Have the Sim blow out the candles. They age up to the next life stage right away.
4. For an infant or toddler, a teen, young adult, adult or elder carries them to the cake. Elders can't be aged up with a cake.

If a Sim ages up on their own without a cake or party, they can get the sad Forgotten Birthday moodlet, so a cake is worth it even when the birthday arrives naturally.

03Aging Up a Newborn Early

On Normal lifespan a newborn turns into an infant after 24 hours, but an older Sim can use the newborn's Age Up interaction to do it at any time.

For infants and toddlers, use a birthday cake (carried by a teen or older Sim) or the CAS cheat below.

04Aging Up With Cheats (cas.fulleditmode)

The Sims 4 has no single cheat that ages a Sim up with one click. Create-A-Sim's full edit mode lets you change the age directly:

1. Open the cheat console with Ctrl+Shift+C on PC (all four shoulder buttons on console).
2. Type testingcheats true and press Enter.
3. Type cas.fulleditmode and press Enter. No confirmation message appears.
4. Shift+Click the Sim and choose Modify in CAS, then change their age and save.

Full edit mode also lets you make a Sim younger and change Sims who aren't in your household, which a cake can't do.

05Controlling Lifespan & Stopping Aging

If Sims age too fast, or you want them frozen, change aging globally in Game Options → Gameplay:

• Set the lifespan to Short, Normal or Long; the table above shows what each one means per stage.
• Turn auto-aging off, or limit it, separately for played and unplayed Sims. Played Sims outside your active household keep aging off-screen unless you switch that off.
• A pregnant Sim doesn't age until they give birth.
• Long lifespan suits legacy and storytelling saves where you want time to play out each stage.