After playing the trailer park challenge, I really wanted to make another financial struggle challenge but one more focused on the kids. So, here's a challenge I am actively playing right now, I've tried to make it as difficult and depressing as possible. Instead of a west country hillbilly vibe like the trailer park challenge, this one is more brutalist desolate Siberia.

Start with two parents, and a toddler. The parents must be grouchy, and can't have fortune aspiration, the rest is up to you. The toddler should have full nice points, and will be the main character in this.

Move them in to a small empty world, and set three seasons to winter and one to fall. They are deep in the desolate expanse of eastern Russia, where civilisation is sparse. Any community lots you add must be outdoors, eg a great lake or an ice rink (just suspend your belief and imagine they're skating on frozen water).

Move in to a large empty lot, and set your money to 10k, that is all you have left to build. Make sure you have a fire place, and a bed for the parents. Use minimal furnishings, make it bland and depressing. No phone or computer, as your sims are out in the middle of nowhere they can't use services and have unreliable internet. The cheapest TV is allowed. It'd be beneficial to have a green house to grow food in, and a pond to catch fish.

The adults can not have jobs. The only way they can earn money is by digging for 'oil' (you can sell whatever you find digging), fishing, and selling produce. You can only sell old furniture once a year in fall. You may not travel to any city or town, I recommend fishing a lot before the lake freezes over since you can't go grocery shopping or have it delivered, fish are your food source.

Every day, when not pregnant, your adults must try for a baby. They have to keep warm some how after all!

It is up to your oldest child to look after their siblings as much as they are able to. Parents must do bare minimum, that is to say they only step in when your eldest is unable to do something (until they turn in to a teenager, in which case it is completely on them). As a child, they can feed their toddler siblings by filling up the dog bowl, and live off of eating snacks out of the fridge.

Despite the neglect, the parents are strict. If they catch you misbehaving (eg leaving a mess, throwing a tantrum, or failing school) you either get locked in the cupboard or locked outside. Might be good to have a shed for the sim to hide out in when that happens, so they don't freeze to death.

You may adopt stray dogs that the parents befriend, but they have to stay in one of the dog shacks outside. No pet jobs.

You can add one other family in the world, but that is not necessary. If you do, same restrictions on money and building apply.

Despite the rough upbringing, your sim wants a better future for themselves and their siblings. They want to do good at school, and go to college. They dream of having a family of their own some day, one filled with love. But can they accomplish their dreams, without leaving their younger siblings behind?

To win the challenge, your sim must move to another world and build a life there, get a good job (college is recommended for the initial fresh start), and slowly 'adopt' each of your siblings. To do this, you must pay 1k for each sibling to move in with you, as flights and custody battles are expensive. Each sibling must have their own bed in preparation to move in.

Also, for your sim to initially move out, your sim must raise their own money to pay for their flight and housing, either by fishing digging or gardening, or they can paint (only this sim can sell paintings). To move out to college, your sim must have made 1500 on their own, the 1k must be deleted for the flight there and the 500 is all you're allowed to start with once in dorms. To move out to a house (they may start with an empty lot) you must have whatever it costs to buy said lot plus the flight cost, then set money to 0 as you are not allowed to keep the 20k the game automatically gives you. Once you have moved worlds you can get jobs, whatever job you'd like. (ps you can cheat to get a phone purely to use to move out, must be removed afterwards though)

Getting married to the love of your life once you have moved is a bonus, and since you had two parents there should be two available spots left for a spouse and child even once all your siblings are with you. Spouse must have positive relationship with whichever of the siblings you live with before marriage though.

After you've moved out you may have siblings get taken by social services then adopt them in to your household that way, but if any of them get taken before your sim moves out you lose the challenge.