Here’s How To Have Children in Skyrim

Skyrim is the first installment in the Elder Scrolls franchise that features children. You can see them playing on the streets of various cities, interacting with you as well as with various other NPCs. Some children are even a part of interesting but dark quests. In light of that, many players are wondering whether you can have children of your own in Skyrim, and if you can, how exactly do you have one? 

How do you adopt children in Skyrim? 

You adopt children in Skyrim via a special dialogue that appears when you interact with the children who are eligible for adoption. The system was introduced with Hearhtfire DLC and it allowed a player to adopt up to two children. Children can be adopted as long as you have a child’s bedroom in your house in one of the cities or you have extra rooms in one of your Hearhtfire-introduced self-built houses. Marriage is not a prerequisite for adopting children. Adopting a child unlocks “Proud Parent” achievement. 

What happens when I adopt a child in Skyrim?

When you adopt a child, the child moves to one of your houses that has a child’s room. You can pick the location where your child will live through dialogue options. Once your children are moved into your house, you will notice that they have pretty advanced AI when it comes to interactions with you, their siblings (if your child has one), and the environment in general. The following interactions are unlocked once your child settles into a new home:

• Your children will often bring you gifts. Some houses have a special chest filled with things that your children find during the day while exploring the environment. Those chests often contain miscellaneous items and various alchemical ingredients. 
• Your children will frequently ask you to play with them. That interaction is not limited only to your adopted children. 
• You can give gifts to your children which will activate a buff called Gift of Charity. Gifts can include sweets, toys, and daggers.
• A buff called Father’s or Mother’s love is activated if you sleep in the same house as your child. 
• Your children can keep pets, there are several pets that they can adopt: skeever, rabbit, fox, mudcrab, and snow fox. Your child may also ask to adopt one of your dogs if you are followed by one. Keep in mind that you can only keep 1 dog and 1 wild animal pet at the same time. 
• You can order your children to do chores. 

Besides those significant interactions, your children will also interact with your spouse if you have one and sibling if you decide to adopt more than one child. 

How many children can you have in Skyrim? 

You can have up to two children in Skyrim. The reason for this is simple: children require space, and most houses in Skyrim only have space for 2 planned children. You cannot “split” your family between several houses even if you own all houses in Skyrim with all children upgrades. There are, however, mods that increase the limit of adoptable children, for example, Hearthfire Multiple Adoptions mod.

Can you have biological children in Skyrim? 

No, it’s not possible to have biological children in Skyrim. You can only adopt. Skyrim includes 23 children that you can adopt, and you can find them wandering the streets of various cities, or you can go straight to Honorhall Orphanage in Riften. Some children can be adopted on the spot, such as Alesan, Blaise, Francois Beaufort, Lucia, Runa Fair-Shield, Hroar, Samuel, and Sofie. The rest of the children become eligible for adoption if their parents are killed either through random world encounters or through special quests. 

Do children grow up in Skyrim? 

No, your adopted children never grow up in Skyrim. This makes sense since no other NPC ages in Skyrim. Even though time passes and is measured in Skyrim, the aging mechanic was never implemented. 

Can you Unadopt a child in Skyrim?

No, children cannot be “unadopted” in Skyrim. The only chance you get to change your mind is when you’re discussing adoption with a child. The dialogue option stating that you have “changed your mind” can be used and this is the only chance you get. Once the child has moved into your house, it cannot be unadopted. 

As you can see, adoption is possible, and you have numerous candidates to choose from. You can adopt up to two children, so choose wisely. 

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