How to Have Kids in Stardew Valley:

To have children in Stardew Valley, you must be married and have upgraded your Farmhouse to the second level, which includes a nursery and an extra room. Once you go to bed for the night, there is a 1 in 20 chance that your spouse will ask if you want to have or adopt a child. You can choose to accept or decline their offer. Same-gender couples can adopt children, while opposite-gender couples will have biological children. If you remove the crib during a house renovation, you cannot have any new children until the crib is replaced.

You can have a maximum of two children, one male and one female. The gender of the first child is random, and the gender of the second child is the opposite of the first. Children will never grow beyond the Toddler stage (Stage 4). You can only have a second child after the first child has grown to the Toddler stage.

Your spouse will also take your children to events such as the Stardew Valley Fair when they are at least in the Toddler stage. However, there is a glitch in the game that causes them to appear on the same tile and overlap.

Biological Children:

To be asked if you want to have a child in the game, you must have a 10-heart relationship with your spouse, have the nursery, not have removed the crib, and be married for at least 7 days. There is a ≈5% chance that your spouse will ask if you want to have a child. If you agree, the baby will be born after 14 days and will appear in the crib in the nursery. If you decline, there will be a ≈5% chance that your spouse will ask again each night that you are married (and maintain 10 hearts).

During the first 14 days in the nursery, the baby will sleep. After this, they will begin to stand in the crib (except when sleeping) for another 14 days, but you can play with them. Once this stage has passed, they will be allowed out of their crib for another 28 days to crawl around your house during the day.

After that, the baby will enter the toddler stage, where they will remain for the rest of their life. They will start sleeping in one of the beds in the nursery, freeing the crib for another child (if you do not already have two children).

Adopted Children:

In Stardew Valley, the process of adoption is quite similar to having a biological child. To adopt a child, you must maintain a 10-heart relationship with your spouse, have the nursery, not have removed the crib, and have been married for at least 7 days. There is a ≈5% chance that your spouse will ask if you want to adopt a child.

If you agree to adopt, the process will take 14 days. During this time, your spouse will inform you that the adoption paperwork has been filed.

Your adopted child will arrive in the middle of the night, and you will receive a note from the adoption agency stating that they have dropped off your new baby.

Stages:

Stage 1:

14 days long. Interactions with the child will always result in “[child’s name] is sleeping.”.

Stage 2:

14 days long. When interacting with the child, the player will toss them into the air, which improves the relationship level. You can also toss the child while sleeping for a funny animation.

Stage 3:

28 days long. The child will crawl around the house and play with toys. Sometimes they might be buggy and get stuck in furniture. At night they will be put back into the crib automatically and you cannot interact with them.

Stage 4:

The child will dash around the house. You can right click on them to interact and increase the relationship level.

Dismissing Children:

In Stardew Valley, it is possible to dismiss children late in the game by interacting with the Dark Shrine of Selfishness in the Witch’s Hut. To do this, players must offer the shrine a Prismatic Shard. This will allow them to turn their children into doves, causing them to leave the farm permanently. Once dismissed, children cannot be returned.

It is important to note that dismissing a child will open up the possibility of your spouse asking if you want to have children again, unless the crib has been removed. Additionally, if a child is wearing a hat when they are dismissed, the hat will show up in the Lost and Found the following morning. For more information about the easter eggs that this unlocks, check out the Secrets section.

Multiplayer:

In co-op mode, if the main player is married to a farmhand, they will be randomly asked if they want children overnight. If the main player agrees, the question is then asked to the farmhand. Once both players agree, a child will be born following the rules outlined above.