Yes, you can know the joys of parenthood and have children in Stardew Valley with your in-game spouse! Here’s the guide on how to have them, the requirements you need before you can get started, and how to get rid of them.
Marry A Villager or Fellow Player
In single-player mode, marriage is only available for villagers listed as “Single” in the Social Tab. Before proposing, you need ten hearts with your intended spouse, which requires you to have gifted a bouquet to your marriage candidate at eight friendship hearts.
You can purchase a bouquet from Pierre’s General Store for 200g after reaching the eighth friendship level and awards 25 friendship points (but does not count as a normal gift). Don’t worry if you forget, Pierre will send you a letter!
After your intended accepts the bouquet, their status in the Social Tab will change to “boyfriend” or “girlfriend,” unlocking the heart level, and indicating the move from friendship to dating.
Note: The bouquet can be given to multiple marriage candidates, regardless of gender, and though there is no friendship penalty for this, there is a group heart event that may cause all partners to give you the “cold shoulder” for a week.
To marry, you’ll need two more hearts (500 more friendship points). After reaching ten hearts, you can purchase a Mermaid’s Pendant from the Old Mariner. He is located on the east side of the Beach (past the broken bridge) when it’s raining. He will only sell it if you’ve upgraded your house at least once, unlocking the kitchen. Three days after you give your intended spouse the pendant, your wedding happens.
Note: If your wedding day falls on the same day as an event, your wedding will happen the day after.
NPC Marriage Candidates
Note: [*] are villagers from Stardew Expanded.
Bachelors: Alex, Elliott, Harvey, Lance*, Magnus*, Sam, Sebastian, Shane, Victor*
Bachelorettes: Abigail, Claire*, Emily, Haley, Leah, Maru, Olivia*, Penny, Sophia*
Marriage in Multiplayer
In Stardew Valley multiplayer mode, marriage is available for villagers and fellow players. To marry a fellow player, you’ll need to give them a wedding ring rather than the Mermaid’s Pendant. You can craft one with five iridium bars, one prismatic shard, and the wedding ring recipe (which can be gotten from the Wandering Merchant for 500g). You can get married immediately after.
To marry a villager, you undergo the same process as in single-player mode, where each NPC can only be married to one player at a time, and children are added to the married player’s home.
Unlock A Nursery
Now that you are married, you are one step away from unlocking children!
Before you can have a child, you need to buy the second upgrade for your Farmhouse which unlocks the nursery and an extra room.
The second upgrade will require 50,000g, 150 hardwood, and the first upgrade (10,000g and 450 wood) to be completed. Robin will finish each upgrade in three days.
Have a Child
You’ll need to be married to your partner for at least a week in-game, maintain a ten heart level, and complete other specific conditions depending on your partner.
Unlike other villagers, your heart level with your spouse decreases over time, so it’s important to talk to them most days (if not daily), give them gifts they like, and don’t do things that will upset them (like giving them gifts they hate, or hitting them with a slingshot).
After you go to bed for the night, your spouse might ask you (5% chance) if you want to have or adopt a child. You can answer “Yes” or “Not Now.”
Note: Answering “not now” has no penalty.
Same-gender couples will adopt a child, and opposite-gender couples will have a biological child. If you remove the crib, you cannot have any new children, unless replacing the crib.
After saying “Yes,” to your partner’s request, the baby will be born or the adoption will happen after 14 days.
In an adoption, during the waiting period, your spouse will tell you that adoption paperwork has been filled. On the fourteenth day, your child will appear in the crib in the middle of the night with a note saying that the adoption agency has dropped off the baby.
You can only get two children: one male and the other female. The first child’s gender is random, while the second child will the be the opposite of the first. Children in Stardew Valley never grow up past the toddler stage (stage 4), and you will only be able to get a second child after the first has become a toddler.
Congrats, you’ve got kids! Though they can’t travel off the farm with you or interact with other NPCs, your spouse will take them to events like the Stardew Valley Fair where they can be seen walking around.
Children in Multiplayer
In multiplayer/Co-op, you can have children with another player (farmhand). The main player will be asked randomly if they want a child. If that person says yes, the game will then ask the other player (farmhand). If both of you say yes, the child will follow the same process as in single-player. If either one says no, then the child will not spawn.
Raising The Child
Aging Stages
Children go through four different stages of aging.
| Stage | Length (in Days) | Available Animations/Interactions |
| 1 | 14 | Baby will remain in crib. Any interaction will result in “[Child’s Name] is sleeping.” |
| 2 | 14 | Baby now stands up in the crib. On interaction, the player will toss the baby in the air, improving the relationship level. |
| 3 | 28 | Child will crawl around the Farmhouse and play with toys. At night, they return to their crib automatically. |
| 4 | Forever | Toddler will run around the house. Interactions result in further raising your friendship level. The toddler will then sleep in one of the single beds in the nursery, freeing up the crib and allowing you to have a second child (if you do not already have one). |
Friendship Mechanics
The differences with children friendship mechanics and typical friendship mechanics are: they cannot be given gifts, and the friendship points you earn or lose in the Luau and Bulletin Board Bundle do not affect your relationship with your children. Like regular villager friendships, your friendship level with your children will not decrease over time.
Note: There are no benefits or detriments to increasing your relationship with your children or having them in general. Though there are no benefits to having children that will directly help you, if you are achievement hunting, in order to get the ‘Full House’ achievement, you need to be married, have an upgraded home, and have two children.
Dismiss Your Child
If you ever want to dismiss your children, you can do so by interacting with the Dark Shrine of Selfishness inside the Witch’s Hut.
To unlock the Shrine, you need to have completed either the Community Center or the Joja route, finished the Dark Talisman Quest for the Wizard, and unlocked access to the Witch’s Hut.
By offering up a Prismatic Shard, players can dismiss their children, turning them into doves, who leave the farm forever. Once they are dismissed, they cannot be returned. Any hats the children may be wearing during dismissal will show up in the Lost and Found inside Mayor Lewis’s house the next morning.
Note: This will re-open the possibility of your spouse asking if you want a child as long as you have a crib.
After your children are dismissed, some spooky stuff starts to happen:
1. You’ll receive a phone call (if you have a phone) that says, “You have forsaken us”
2. You’ll encounter an Ancient Doll, and depending on which farm layout you selected it will appear in different ways (e.g. Standard Farm, the TV or Four-Corners Farm, while fishing).
3. After seeing Ancient Doll, a cursed one will show up at the Witch’s Hut, flying around and attacking you. Once you slay it, it will turn into a bird and leave; however it respawns every time you enter the hut.
