The Sims 4: Parenthood Review (indahv12)
First of all, I do believe this should have been part of base game, but I still recommend it (on sale, as you know to do by now hopefully.)
The negative reviews are misleading and was a huge reason I waited so long to get it. I was worried it would have a huge negative impact on the game but that is not the case, it's a great pack. I guess if you don't enjoy "grinding" to get your kids' skills up and maintain them (which is what makes this a video game but I digress--) then ignoring the character trait aspect is possible. How I treat the advice dialogue boxes is that I choose the dialogue that negatively impacts a skill I can easily supplement afterward. If it negatively impacts manners, you can easily choose the "Teach to say Please and Thank you" dialogue tree option right afterward, then praise them for learning how to say Please and Thank You which counts toward disciplining your child (part of an aspiration milestone for the "Super Parent" aspiration) and boosts your kid's character trait range even more. Which ties into another negative review this pack has gotten, no you do not have to make your child sim perform a bad behavior in order to discipline them. Encouraging them after they finish a school project, get a good grade, play with the doctor playset, writing in their journal, or even learning to say sorry and please and thank you counts as disciplining them. I understand why that would be confusing though--semantics or whatever.
Once you learn how to play with this expansion pack it's very rewarding and a good addition. This pack is less of a rip off than others as long as you get it as cheap as possible.