Stardew Valley: Everything You Need To Know About Having Children (2024)

This article is part of a directory: Stardew Valley: Complete Guide

Once you've found and married your true love in Stardew Valley, you'll be able to have kids. You're limited to a maximum of two kids, and there are some things you'll need to do before the game gives you the option at all.

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Never fear — when it comes to having children, Stardew Valley makes it much easier than real life. For everything you need to know about getting married, what to expect when you're expecting, and how children behave in-game, look no further than this guide. We will explain how to have kids in Stardew Valley and much more.

Updated May 30, 2024 by Jacqueline Zalace: Children in Stardew Valley are a great way to add some life to your quaint farmhouse. As such, we've updated the formatting of this guide slightly, and provided a bit more information on the potential marriage candidates that you can raise children with.

How Do Children Work?

There are a couple of things to know about having kids in Stardew Valley. You're limited to two kids — one boy and one girl. The gender of your first child is chosen at random, while the gender of the second is whichever the first child wasn't.

Finally, you can have children whether you are in an opposite- or same-gender partnership. If you are married to someone of the opposite gender, you'll have kids, and if you're married to someone of the same gender, you'll adopt. This guide will refer to both having and adopting children as "having" for ease of reading.

How Old Do Your Children Get?

They grow up over time, but they stop at the toddler stage and never age past it. Your children will never fully grow into teens and adults, putting them in a bizarre state of eternal childhood.

Prerequisites To Having Children

You'll need to meet certain criteria before the game lets you add kids to your family. The requirements are as follows:

• Be married for at least seven days
• A ten-heart friendship level (at least) with your spouse
• A farmhouse upgraded twice that contains a nursery with a crib

How to Get Married

Once you've reached a friendship level of eight hearts with a marriage candidate, you can purchase a bouquet from Pierre's General Store. When you give it to your beloved, the two of you will enter a relationship and your heart level will be unlocked, allowing you to level it up to ten hearts.

When you reach ten hearts, you'll be able to purchase a Mermaid's Pendant from the Old Mariner, who shows up on the east side of the Beach (you'll need to upgrade the broken bridge with 300 wood if you haven't already) when it rains. He'll only sell it to you if you've upgraded your house to have a kitchen (the first upgrade).

Give the Mermaid's Pendant to your partner and your wedding will take place three days later. You'll need to be married for a week before the option opens up to have kids, given that the other requirements are met as well.

Each marriage candidate can be found below, along with some helpful information about them.

Maintaining Friendship With Your Spouse

Unlike the other villagers, your friendship level with your spouse will always decay over time. Luckily, it's pretty easy to keep it at ten hearts (or higher).

Ensure that you speak to them most days, if not every day. Give them gifts they like when possible, and don't do things that upset them (like giving them hated gifts or hitting them with a slingshot). This should keep your heart level at ten hearts or more, which is required to have kids.

Upgrading Your Farmhouse

The final thing you need in order to have children is an upgraded farmhouse. The first upgrade adds a kitchen and allows you to get married, but you'll need to upgrade it a second time to unlock children. The second upgrade adds a nursery with a crib and two single beds.

The first upgrade costs 10,000 gold and 450 wood, and it will take Robin three days to finish. Next, you'll need 50,000 gold and 150 hardwood for the second upgrade and nursery, which will also take three days.

How To Get Married In Multiplayer

If you are playing Stardew Valley in multiplayer mode with a friend, getting married works a bit differently. Rather than getting the Mermaid Pendant, you will need to craft a Wedding Ring with the following materials.

• 5x Iridium Bar
• 1x Prismatic Shard

The recipe for the Wedding Ring can be purchased from the Wandering Merchant for 500g. There is no relationship level with other players, so you can get married immediately without getting to know each other.

How To Have Or Adopt Kids

Once all of these criteria are met, you will be able to have kids. At night, there is around a five percent chance that your spouse will ask if you want kids.

If you say yes, then 14 days later, you will either give birth or finish the adoption process. On the final day of this time period, your baby will be in the crib.

If, on the other hand, you say no, then nothing bad will happen. Your spouse will simply accept your answer, go to sleep, and maybe ask at a later date, so long as the requirements are still met.

How to Have Kids in Stardew Valley Multiplayer

If you are playing a multiplayer/co-op file, and you marry another player, you can still have children.

The main player will be asked randomly if they want to have a child, similar to the query when married to an NPC. If they say yes, the farmhand will then be asked as well. If they say yes as well, the child appears in the same way as normal.

What Are The Stages Of Childhood?

Children go through four "stages" as they grow up. From the second stage onward, you can interact with your kid(s) to level up your friendship with them.

Can You Build A Friendship With Your Children?

There are some differences in how friendship works when it comes to your own kids. First, they cannot be given gifts, and the friendship points you earn or lose at the Luau and from the Bulletin Board Bundle do not affect your relationship with your kids.

However, unlike your spouse, your friendship level with your kids will not decay once it reaches ten hearts, like the other villagers.

How To Get Rid Of Kids

If you decide you don't want your kid(s) anymore, you can "dismiss" them. To do this, you'll need to have completed either the Community Center or Joja route, finished the Dark Talisman quest for the Wizard, and unlocked access to the Witch's Hut.

Inside the Witch's Hut, there are three shrines. One is called the Dark Shrine of Selfishness. By presenting a Prismatic Shard to this shrine, you can "dismiss" your children, which will turn them into doves and remove them from your family.

What Happens Once Your Children Are Gone?

You should know that, if you're not a fan of creepy stuff, there are some scary things that happen after you dismiss children. First, you'll receive a phone call (if you have a phone) that seems to come from your abandoned kids. It will have an "otherworldly voice" that says "YOU HAVE FORSAKEN US."

Second, you'll encounter an Ancient Doll depending on which farm layout you have. If you have the Standard Farm, you'll see a weird channel on the TV on Fall 26. Selecting it will show an Ancient Doll that says "You've brought this upon yourself... now I'm free... Hee hee hee!" It will then pop out of the TV like the girl from The Ring.

If, on the other hand, you have the Four-Corners Farm, you might fish up an Ancient Doll when fishing on the farm.

After you've encountered the Ancient Doll, a cursed one will show up at the Witch's Hut and fly around, attacking you. Once you kill it, it will turn into a bird and leave; but it will respawn every time you enter the hut.

What Are The Benefits Of Having Children?

Overall, there are no real benefits to having children that directly aid you. When you do decide to have children, your partner will no longer ask for them, which can be a benefit if you find these messages a bit annoying. In general though, you will not miss out on any content if you choose to not have children.

Although there are no benefits, you will be able to put hats on your kids. Simply select the hat in your inventory and interact with your kids, the same way you place a hat on your horse or place materials into machines.

Mods That Improve Children

If you are a bit tired of the simplistic nature of children, there are mods to help you! Below, you can check out some helpful and unique mods to download.

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