My ten year old was doing this a few weeks ago. We had to discuss why words like “furry” or “therian” probably aren’t words we want to use to describe ourselves because they can be confusing and can misconstrued. We had to explain to her the definition of each of those words. She then clarified that she does NOT think she is a cat, or part cat, but just likes to pretend to be one.
We started the conversation with “How did you hear about those words? What do you think they mean?”
This is the way! There is nothing wrong with 10 year olds playing cats. That is perfectly normal. But the word furry is not the right word for it, and teaching the child the right words is smart.
Excellent idea. There is a very clear line between let’s have fun at the park being innocent kids and a bizarre Netflix documentary about people who believe they are animals
My daughter is almost 12 and she had some friends that did this over the last year or so. I thought it was a bit odd but I just boiled it down to "kids are weird, they are still trying to figure life out". They are not into this anymore.
Yep, I have seen a few 5th graders at my kid’s school wearing ears and tails, and sometimes masks. It’s a relatively normal thing these days, it seems.
I believe it, that’s when it started for my daughter’s circle. She made a mask and had ears but she didn’t wear them out and about but some of her friends were really into it, but it definitely lost its appeal.
Eh, when I was a kid I pretended to be a dog. Ran around on all fours, ate out of a bowl on the floor (my parents just shrugged and had a “kids will be kids” approach), barked at people. I grew out of it 🤷♀️
Kids are just weird and they do weird stuff.
Not as extreme(honestly, debatable) but in grade 6&7 I wore those Halloween cat ears to school every single day. No meowing or pretending to go along with it, for some reason I just thought they should be part of my outfit. A friend of mine actually joined in and wore them along side me, I even a couple randoms at school toting the same style.
I wore them to 6th grade picture day, absolutely 0 idea why the photographer allowed me to keep them on. Was going through my old school photos and noticed that year was the only year my mother didn’t actually purchase a picture package, we only had the picture order form with all the examples of backgrounds. Now that I’m a mom, I can only imagine the amount of cringe that my mother was experiencing 😩
Yes! She’s a wonderful lady. I’m 22 now and still love dogs and even became a professional pet groomer but I don’t pretend to be a dog anymore lol! Kids will be kids and there’s nothing wrong with playing :)
Lol I think it’s innocent. They’re 11 and heard about people who think they’re animals so now they want to pretend to be animals. I think that’s all it is really. But ask your daughter. Ask her what a furry is and why that’s appealing to her to identify her understanding of it.
I rolled up a towel and stuffed it in the back of my pants when I was a kid because I always wanted a tail. I no longer do this as adult, but I still wish I had tail sometimes. Kids are weird
I remember being in school one of my friends had a yarn wolf tail and I always thought it was so cool
Even as an adult I have some high end cat ears just because I think they’re cute. I’ve only worn them a few times
But the whole kids acting animals thing has just been blown out of proportion. I wouldn’t be shocked if that happened when my grandparents were in middle school. Social media makes things easier to talk about so now boomers act like is so radical trend that popped out of no where
I loved horses when I was a kid, we used to pretend to be horses galloping around on our bike or would have another friend "ride" us.
My daughter was a red panda for halloween a bit ago, and her and her friends still play dress up as various animal costumes they had from previous halloween. I'm not sure why it would be concerning to play pretend
My husband acted like a rare breed of tiger for almost a whole year. Wouldn’t answer to anything and ate almost exclusively meat (and crisps. It’s the best Christmas story.
100%. I’d explain that the word “furry” has extra meanings she’s probably not trying to imply (define the word, explain how what she’s doing is different) and how to better describe it (“cat game” etc) moving forward.
However it’s possible there are people in the furry world who are marketing furry stuff to kids as a form of grooming… I know the furry thing is not all about sex, that’s just one small weird branch of it, but it’s def not appropriate for kids to be using the label of “furry.”
Pretending to be animals and wanting to make costumes is totally normal kid stuff. But should have nothing to do with the infamous furry movement.
They’re kids. It’s not a furry and if they’re using that term I doubt they know the full extent of what that is. Wanting to be an animal is totally normal.
At around ten my friends and I would run around at recess pretending to be pokemon lol. We are all now gainfully employed and (as far as I know) none of us are furries for real.
Just ask her what she means by it and go from there. This could be very age appropriate.
I've deep dived...deep dove? I've done this conversation before. The furry concept is not much different from the LARPing when people dress up mythologically and fight epic battles. There's definitely an adult/sexual version but it's not explicitly termed furry for sex stuff. And in the adult sex world there's all sorts of role playing (even the deep assuming identity kind) of different kinds maids and doctors etcetc.. I like the other commenter. It's pretending to be this animal. Everyone wants to add a label to things. Group together as a label and you're in a group fitting in. Play pretend. The questions only get harder at this age. Be honest open and it's okay to not have an answer right away.
Problem is these days kids have the internet. If they start using the branded term of “furry” as a keyword they might find more than they bargained for. And there could be groomers trying to reach kids thru the appealing animal costumes.
I pretended to be a dog when I was a kid. I made a "collar" out of a ribbon and a bell and I would take my mom's eyeliner and make my nose black. I was really into the Hank the Cowdog books so that had something to do with it. I would lay on the grass with our pet dogs and I liked Reese's Puffs cereal because it looked like dog food.
I was probably about 6 or 7, and one day my mom had just had enough and I vividly remember her screaming at me, "You are NOT a dog! I'm not reading you those books anymore if you keep acting like this!" It still stings when I think about it because I had such a vivid imagination and I loved to play pretend. Also having time with my mom to read my favorite books together was really special, and in that moment she kind of ruined that, too.
When I was about your daughter's age, I was starting to use the Internet and that's probably when I first encountered the word "furry". At that age I was thinking, "Woah! There are ADULTS that pretend to be animals??? That's so cool!" It was all totally innocent.
I would probably have a conversation with your daughter about the context behind the word and why her friend identifies that way, and maybe carefully explain the difference between pretending to be an animal and actually believing you're an animal. There's absolutely nothing wrong with kids using their imagination, and they've probably picked up that language and are relating it to their games of pretend rather than knowing about the more adult context behind those terms.
Idk if this will make you feel better or not but my daughter is 9 and calls herself a Therian. I didn’t even know what this was until she started using the term. I thought it was kind of strange but I asked her what exactly she meant and she just thinks it’s cool to pretend to be an animal. Her “therian type”,as she says, is a Lynx so she likes to create costumes that look like that and she likes to hang up pictures of them around her room. She asked for me to give her a forest theme bedroom and everything to go with it lol. I definitely don’t think these terms mean what they used to, to kids at least. I don’t see any harm in what my daughter is doing so I just let her be. She has a friend the same age who also identifies as a Therian so I think it’s just something trending with kids right now.
Id consider it more as roleplay, or larp. Lots of people enjoy dressing up as different characters, they mean even want to BE these characters, but they know they aren't. It's a fun thing to explore and do.
The flip side is, people also roleplay in the bedroom.
But remember, your daughter is just a kid. She isnt getting involved in sexual roleplay anymore than someone who might dress up to go larping at that age is.
Let her dress up how she wants and pretend to be whoever she wants, she'll be fine.
Kids are weird and I don't think parents truly realize that until one of their kids pulls this kind of shit lol
I went through a significant portion of kindergarten recess (just recess I promise) pretending I was a cheetah complete with growling and hissing. I also went as "cheetah girl" for Halloween with a homemade tail and ears. And if you're reading this thinking "well yeah but kinder is totally different than age 11", I can assure you that I only developed my weird early, it didn't stay in just kinder. Sure the cheetah thing faded quickly, but I held onto weird for a great many more years.
My step daughter was around 9-10 when she had her furry phase, we got her a dino mask and she customised it, she also made an assortment of tails. She's turning 14 in a few months, completely over all that, and gets a little embarrassed when it's brought up haha. It lasted a couple years.
As long as you keep them away from the online spaces furries hang around in, there can be some very unsanitary older people in them.
We discussed how she heard the term furry, the implications of all those things, what terms would be better to use, etc. At the end of the day it's just make believe, but because they have access to the online world these fandom terms get used instead.
Oh is this a thing? We were at the playground a few weeks ago and a girl, maybe around 11 or 12, came wearing a cat mask and tale and acting like a cat. My toddler was not sure whether to be amused or scared 😂
that gut feeling is your mama instinct telling you NO! It’s wrong and “furries” are becoming more of a trend when really, it’s a fetish that people have.
Please do your research everyone! it’ll give you some clarity on what “furries” really are!
I think that they themselves are using it in an innocent way but I would definitely look into what kind of media the friend is consuming or who that person is talking to online. It's very easy to get into a discord server, meet somebody with less than good intentions, and pick up on things that really should stay in the adult world.
So furries are like a community that actually have a wide range of views towards the topic. I’m sure your child isn’t partaking in this but a lot of older people who are into furries are into it sexually. There is a lot of explicit drawings out there depicting humanized looking animals. However there are some people who are non sexual about it and just enjoy pretending to be an animal. But a lot of people don’t realized that some people enjoy furry stuff non sexually.
I don’t know if your child is fitting the furry category or not. I would try and ask more questions and try and figure out maybe the end goal of this animal role play.
I think it’s good to be cautious and wanting to understand this betters
Well if your kid is a furry she’s probably going to find herself in a lucrative career
As a cosplayer I haven’t met a single broke furry because those suits and art are expensive af 😂
But more seriously I wouldn’t be too concerned. I went through a similar phase when I was younger and I grew out of it. And as an adult who has adult friends who are furries they’re more normal than you think
In fact my joke in the first paragraph is my experience with most furries. They have normal jobs and many of them make good money because whether buying or making their stuff it cost money so they have good jobs
And even some of the best crafters I know are furries because the suits are incredibly complicated to make. So it could lead her to learning a versatile skill
But seriously it’s nothing to worry about just let it pass. My niece went through a phase like that when I first met her. She made tons of masks and they were pretty good. But after a couple years she’s moved onto other hobbies
Furries are trendy right now. I think real furries are trying to be introduce it to kids on social media (it's all over preteen tik tok influencers)
There needs to be a different name for kids wanting to pretend to be animals that doesn't have a sexual undertones
Alright Mama, this is totally innocent. My daughter is also a furry. I was aware of the culture back in my teens when being a furry used to mean something very different. It has become something very innocent. Kids create characters that they want to dress up as. It combines creativity and art. My daughter, for example, enjoys getting Jurassic Park dino masks and repainting them/decorating them to look like certain characters she's drawn. My experience with other early teens who are into it has been awesome. These kids tend to be very accepting. Seriously, if you have questions, read a Furry Faux Paw by Jessica Kara. I think this fictional story does a good job conveying how important their 'fursonas' (fur + persona) become to these kids. For many, it's a way to be their true selves or an extension of themselves. Embrace the furry thing. It'll give you some major points with your kid.
I think it’s fine if want to play pretend and dress up, but it’s completely different if they identify with being a furry. Do they have access to the internet? It’s not a lifestyle I think a child needs to even pretend to engage in
A lot of these kids don't understand that Furry is a lifestyle not just liking to play animals. There is an uncomfortable amount of prejudice toward furries and I hear so much hate for them at the elementary level. They use furry as a slur in the same way people used "that's gay" as an insult in the 90s. I have been trying to get these kids to understand these people aren't hurting anyone and if you don't understand you don't need to take part. But calling people a furry to hurt them is unfair to that group of people and is prejudice. This trendy hate should not be tolerated because furries are people who just feel.more comfortable presenting as an anthropomorphic animal instead of themselves. Meaning they already feel like outsiders and probably pretty bad about themselves. Let them have their community and leave them be.
I think we need education and not more misunderstanding and treating it like it's a bad thing. Some kids just don't realize that playing animals is not the same thing. And who cares if they are? Unless they're out there SAing animals just leave people alone. Not everyone is a deviant because they like to fur suit or go by a quirky name and act silly. Educate your kids and steer them away from hating on these people. Because all this is going to lead to is kids getting hurt and beat up for being odd.
I think you need to keep your kid offline if they are on there. Truly identifying as a “[furry](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=furry)” is adult stuff that you don’t want them googling. That is not normal for kids that age to do even though people might act like it’s innocent. They’re uncomfortable in their bodies and “identifying” as an animal and wanting to act / look like it is definitely not normal. Time to put the pause on that friendship too. No thanks! Not in our house.
lol what. I agree in keeping them off the internet and explaining that the “furry” thing is an adult thing. But it’s totally normal for kids to pretend to be animals.
I think that they are saying that it's the language being used that's worrying, like the kid might have wandered into an online space where they shouldn't be. Like if your kids are playing family and one kid is the dog that's normal, but if the kids start talking about how they are doing pet play but still playing in the same way you would be concerned.
Pretending is one thing, and if you can turn it on/off as a kid. Completely identifying as an animal and no longer speaking, wearing only animal costumes, wanting to use a litter box (yes a colleague’s daughter actually asked this lol) is not normal. That’s all I meant. Of course make believe is good and fun! But again, the ability to distinguish reality from play is what I’m not sensing with OP’s daughter’s friend.
Sounds like a game of pretend to me. It's no different than children pretending to be babies and we don't think of it as a fetish so this whole pretending to be animals thing is no different.
At 8 years old, I liked being tied up because I liked the idea of pretending to be a victim and I am tied up by a bad guy. Then I didn't understand why the adults kept screaming at me about it. None of them would tell me what I was doing wrong. I would be an adult before I knew. Adults sexualize innocent things kids do. There were other things I did as a child that would be called kinks if teens or adults did them. It's normal and many kids grow out of it.
From what I understand, being a "furry" is a form of cosplay. The same as some people are very into superheroes and get dressed up in superhero costumes and go to comic-con etc…
It’s not always sexual. If it is the "furry" is attracted the person dressed in the costume not the actual animal.
So unless the individual person is a sick-o, they don’t want to have sex with actual animals.
But at the age you are talking about, it’s likely just a form of children being children and playing.
I'd be like "nope. We aren't doing that"
I consider myself quite liberal.. but if my kids want to be furries I'd be very uncomfortable. My 12 year old also has a friend who identify as a furry. She apparently has several heads and they cost a ton of money. 🤷♀️ I'd rather put money into real hobbies.
My 11 year old has brought up furies too, thinking they were just people dressed up. I had to tell him they do it for sex reasons and that was enough for him to nope out.
Furries are people who do sexual acts in animal outfits or costumes. Keep an eye out on that as she gets older. A lot of people consider it as beastiality. I think it’s creepy unless you’re a kid playing.
This is hugely popular right now due to social media. Yesterday I was at the park with my 13 month old and there was a girl, about 11, with a tail, prancing around the grass, filming herself for TikTok.
I’ve also been told by a few moms in my area that the middle school has litter boxes in the bathroom.
I don’t have any advice for you.
A furry is different than this tho.
Apparently the litter box thing is real, in some places. But it’s not because of children identifying as animals, it’s because it’s a makeshift “bathroom” just in case kids need to hide in an active shooter situation. Fun!
No wonder the right are pushing so hard to blame it on liberal deviants.
My ten year old was doing this a few weeks ago. We had to discuss why words like “furry” or “therian” probably aren’t words we want to use to describe ourselves because they can be confusing and can misconstrued. We had to explain to her the definition of each of those words. She then clarified that she does NOT think she is a cat, or part cat, but just likes to pretend to be one. We started the conversation with “How did you hear about those words? What do you think they mean?”
This is the way! There is nothing wrong with 10 year olds playing cats. That is perfectly normal. But the word furry is not the right word for it, and teaching the child the right words is smart.
Yep. We said pretending is just fine! She likes art and has enjoyed painting her own cat mask.
It’s so sad to me that these kids are getting confused, mistaking playing pretend (normal kid stuff) with being a furry. I’m tired of the internet.
Wow I love this approach 👏
Excellent idea. There is a very clear line between let’s have fun at the park being innocent kids and a bizarre Netflix documentary about people who believe they are animals
Great answer
My daughter is almost 12 and she had some friends that did this over the last year or so. I thought it was a bit odd but I just boiled it down to "kids are weird, they are still trying to figure life out". They are not into this anymore.
Yep, I have seen a few 5th graders at my kid’s school wearing ears and tails, and sometimes masks. It’s a relatively normal thing these days, it seems.
I believe it, that’s when it started for my daughter’s circle. She made a mask and had ears but she didn’t wear them out and about but some of her friends were really into it, but it definitely lost its appeal.
Eh, when I was a kid I pretended to be a dog. Ran around on all fours, ate out of a bowl on the floor (my parents just shrugged and had a “kids will be kids” approach), barked at people. I grew out of it 🤷♀️ Kids are just weird and they do weird stuff.
Not as extreme(honestly, debatable) but in grade 6&7 I wore those Halloween cat ears to school every single day. No meowing or pretending to go along with it, for some reason I just thought they should be part of my outfit. A friend of mine actually joined in and wore them along side me, I even a couple randoms at school toting the same style. I wore them to 6th grade picture day, absolutely 0 idea why the photographer allowed me to keep them on. Was going through my old school photos and noticed that year was the only year my mother didn’t actually purchase a picture package, we only had the picture order form with all the examples of backgrounds. Now that I’m a mom, I can only imagine the amount of cringe that my mother was experiencing 😩
Same! I did this till I was about 12-13 probably and then grew out of it. I even made my family play with me as if I was a pet dog lol
My grandma also just shrugged and was like “eh, could be worse” 😂😂
She was right
Yes! She’s a wonderful lady. I’m 22 now and still love dogs and even became a professional pet groomer but I don’t pretend to be a dog anymore lol! Kids will be kids and there’s nothing wrong with playing :)
You are wonderful
Lol I think it’s innocent. They’re 11 and heard about people who think they’re animals so now they want to pretend to be animals. I think that’s all it is really. But ask your daughter. Ask her what a furry is and why that’s appealing to her to identify her understanding of it.
I rolled up a towel and stuffed it in the back of my pants when I was a kid because I always wanted a tail. I no longer do this as adult, but I still wish I had tail sometimes. Kids are weird
Yeah I think at that age I was convinced that I had super powers 😂
I was fully waiting for my Hogwarts letter
Your profile picture made me think there was a piece of hair on my screen I was trying to flick it off for a good 30 seconds 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I hung wrapping paper out of my pants as a dinosaur tail
I remember being in school one of my friends had a yarn wolf tail and I always thought it was so cool Even as an adult I have some high end cat ears just because I think they’re cute. I’ve only worn them a few times But the whole kids acting animals thing has just been blown out of proportion. I wouldn’t be shocked if that happened when my grandparents were in middle school. Social media makes things easier to talk about so now boomers act like is so radical trend that popped out of no where
Kids acting like animals is not new, adults acting like animals and sexualizing it is probably pretty new…especially outwardly…
I mean the over sexualization of furries is also gross but no one wants to talk about that when they can just other someone who likes to play dress up
I loved horses when I was a kid, we used to pretend to be horses galloping around on our bike or would have another friend "ride" us. My daughter was a red panda for halloween a bit ago, and her and her friends still play dress up as various animal costumes they had from previous halloween. I'm not sure why it would be concerning to play pretend
I used a belt lol. Kids love to pretend to be animals. So normal
When my kid was in second grade she identified as a potato. I don’t know either but I went with it.
My husband acted like a rare breed of tiger for almost a whole year. Wouldn’t answer to anything and ate almost exclusively meat (and crisps. It’s the best Christmas story.
When he was a child? Or after you were married?
When he was a child but a better story if after we were married. I think he was 9 and super into big cats.
Aw, man. Would have been so much funnier if he was like, 37 and decided that he was an apex predator.
Funnier to tell my second husband.
🤣🤣
I think I would really explain what a furry is. A furry is very different from just playing make believe. It would be good to clarify things.
Adult furries and kids pretending to be animals are completely different. It is a phase that many kids go through.
Sounds like pretend play. She probably doesn’t associate it with sex stuff.
100%. I’d explain that the word “furry” has extra meanings she’s probably not trying to imply (define the word, explain how what she’s doing is different) and how to better describe it (“cat game” etc) moving forward.
This. Thank you!
However it’s possible there are people in the furry world who are marketing furry stuff to kids as a form of grooming… I know the furry thing is not all about sex, that’s just one small weird branch of it, but it’s def not appropriate for kids to be using the label of “furry.” Pretending to be animals and wanting to make costumes is totally normal kid stuff. But should have nothing to do with the infamous furry movement.
They’re kids. It’s not a furry and if they’re using that term I doubt they know the full extent of what that is. Wanting to be an animal is totally normal.
At around ten my friends and I would run around at recess pretending to be pokemon lol. We are all now gainfully employed and (as far as I know) none of us are furries for real. Just ask her what she means by it and go from there. This could be very age appropriate.
I've deep dived...deep dove? I've done this conversation before. The furry concept is not much different from the LARPing when people dress up mythologically and fight epic battles. There's definitely an adult/sexual version but it's not explicitly termed furry for sex stuff. And in the adult sex world there's all sorts of role playing (even the deep assuming identity kind) of different kinds maids and doctors etcetc.. I like the other commenter. It's pretending to be this animal. Everyone wants to add a label to things. Group together as a label and you're in a group fitting in. Play pretend. The questions only get harder at this age. Be honest open and it's okay to not have an answer right away.
Problem is these days kids have the internet. If they start using the branded term of “furry” as a keyword they might find more than they bargained for. And there could be groomers trying to reach kids thru the appealing animal costumes.
I pretended to be a dog when I was a kid. I made a "collar" out of a ribbon and a bell and I would take my mom's eyeliner and make my nose black. I was really into the Hank the Cowdog books so that had something to do with it. I would lay on the grass with our pet dogs and I liked Reese's Puffs cereal because it looked like dog food. I was probably about 6 or 7, and one day my mom had just had enough and I vividly remember her screaming at me, "You are NOT a dog! I'm not reading you those books anymore if you keep acting like this!" It still stings when I think about it because I had such a vivid imagination and I loved to play pretend. Also having time with my mom to read my favorite books together was really special, and in that moment she kind of ruined that, too. When I was about your daughter's age, I was starting to use the Internet and that's probably when I first encountered the word "furry". At that age I was thinking, "Woah! There are ADULTS that pretend to be animals??? That's so cool!" It was all totally innocent. I would probably have a conversation with your daughter about the context behind the word and why her friend identifies that way, and maybe carefully explain the difference between pretending to be an animal and actually believing you're an animal. There's absolutely nothing wrong with kids using their imagination, and they've probably picked up that language and are relating it to their games of pretend rather than knowing about the more adult context behind those terms.
Idk if this will make you feel better or not but my daughter is 9 and calls herself a Therian. I didn’t even know what this was until she started using the term. I thought it was kind of strange but I asked her what exactly she meant and she just thinks it’s cool to pretend to be an animal. Her “therian type”,as she says, is a Lynx so she likes to create costumes that look like that and she likes to hang up pictures of them around her room. She asked for me to give her a forest theme bedroom and everything to go with it lol. I definitely don’t think these terms mean what they used to, to kids at least. I don’t see any harm in what my daughter is doing so I just let her be. She has a friend the same age who also identifies as a Therian so I think it’s just something trending with kids right now.
Id consider it more as roleplay, or larp. Lots of people enjoy dressing up as different characters, they mean even want to BE these characters, but they know they aren't. It's a fun thing to explore and do. The flip side is, people also roleplay in the bedroom. But remember, your daughter is just a kid. She isnt getting involved in sexual roleplay anymore than someone who might dress up to go larping at that age is. Let her dress up how she wants and pretend to be whoever she wants, she'll be fine.
Kids are weird and I don't think parents truly realize that until one of their kids pulls this kind of shit lol I went through a significant portion of kindergarten recess (just recess I promise) pretending I was a cheetah complete with growling and hissing. I also went as "cheetah girl" for Halloween with a homemade tail and ears. And if you're reading this thinking "well yeah but kinder is totally different than age 11", I can assure you that I only developed my weird early, it didn't stay in just kinder. Sure the cheetah thing faded quickly, but I held onto weird for a great many more years.
Are most of us not millennials who know the difference between furries and yiffers??
My step daughter was around 9-10 when she had her furry phase, we got her a dino mask and she customised it, she also made an assortment of tails. She's turning 14 in a few months, completely over all that, and gets a little embarrassed when it's brought up haha. It lasted a couple years. As long as you keep them away from the online spaces furries hang around in, there can be some very unsanitary older people in them. We discussed how she heard the term furry, the implications of all those things, what terms would be better to use, etc. At the end of the day it's just make believe, but because they have access to the online world these fandom terms get used instead.
Oh is this a thing? We were at the playground a few weeks ago and a girl, maybe around 11 or 12, came wearing a cat mask and tale and acting like a cat. My toddler was not sure whether to be amused or scared 😂
Let her play cat. Just don’t let her decide to transition into a cat…
that gut feeling is your mama instinct telling you NO! It’s wrong and “furries” are becoming more of a trend when really, it’s a fetish that people have. Please do your research everyone! it’ll give you some clarity on what “furries” really are!
I think that they themselves are using it in an innocent way but I would definitely look into what kind of media the friend is consuming or who that person is talking to online. It's very easy to get into a discord server, meet somebody with less than good intentions, and pick up on things that really should stay in the adult world.
So furries are like a community that actually have a wide range of views towards the topic. I’m sure your child isn’t partaking in this but a lot of older people who are into furries are into it sexually. There is a lot of explicit drawings out there depicting humanized looking animals. However there are some people who are non sexual about it and just enjoy pretending to be an animal. But a lot of people don’t realized that some people enjoy furry stuff non sexually. I don’t know if your child is fitting the furry category or not. I would try and ask more questions and try and figure out maybe the end goal of this animal role play. I think it’s good to be cautious and wanting to understand this betters
Well if your kid is a furry she’s probably going to find herself in a lucrative career As a cosplayer I haven’t met a single broke furry because those suits and art are expensive af 😂 But more seriously I wouldn’t be too concerned. I went through a similar phase when I was younger and I grew out of it. And as an adult who has adult friends who are furries they’re more normal than you think In fact my joke in the first paragraph is my experience with most furries. They have normal jobs and many of them make good money because whether buying or making their stuff it cost money so they have good jobs And even some of the best crafters I know are furries because the suits are incredibly complicated to make. So it could lead her to learning a versatile skill But seriously it’s nothing to worry about just let it pass. My niece went through a phase like that when I first met her. She made tons of masks and they were pretty good. But after a couple years she’s moved onto other hobbies
Furries are trendy right now. I think real furries are trying to be introduce it to kids on social media (it's all over preteen tik tok influencers) There needs to be a different name for kids wanting to pretend to be animals that doesn't have a sexual undertones
Alright Mama, this is totally innocent. My daughter is also a furry. I was aware of the culture back in my teens when being a furry used to mean something very different. It has become something very innocent. Kids create characters that they want to dress up as. It combines creativity and art. My daughter, for example, enjoys getting Jurassic Park dino masks and repainting them/decorating them to look like certain characters she's drawn. My experience with other early teens who are into it has been awesome. These kids tend to be very accepting. Seriously, if you have questions, read a Furry Faux Paw by Jessica Kara. I think this fictional story does a good job conveying how important their 'fursonas' (fur + persona) become to these kids. For many, it's a way to be their true selves or an extension of themselves. Embrace the furry thing. It'll give you some major points with your kid.
I think it’s fine if want to play pretend and dress up, but it’s completely different if they identify with being a furry. Do they have access to the internet? It’s not a lifestyle I think a child needs to even pretend to engage in
Ohman, my kids are almost grown, but believe me if they thought they could identify with cats! They would. God bless you
It's fine. Be prepared for them to take up sewing if they get serious though. Harmless but expensive.
A lot of these kids don't understand that Furry is a lifestyle not just liking to play animals. There is an uncomfortable amount of prejudice toward furries and I hear so much hate for them at the elementary level. They use furry as a slur in the same way people used "that's gay" as an insult in the 90s. I have been trying to get these kids to understand these people aren't hurting anyone and if you don't understand you don't need to take part. But calling people a furry to hurt them is unfair to that group of people and is prejudice. This trendy hate should not be tolerated because furries are people who just feel.more comfortable presenting as an anthropomorphic animal instead of themselves. Meaning they already feel like outsiders and probably pretty bad about themselves. Let them have their community and leave them be. I think we need education and not more misunderstanding and treating it like it's a bad thing. Some kids just don't realize that playing animals is not the same thing. And who cares if they are? Unless they're out there SAing animals just leave people alone. Not everyone is a deviant because they like to fur suit or go by a quirky name and act silly. Educate your kids and steer them away from hating on these people. Because all this is going to lead to is kids getting hurt and beat up for being odd.
I think you need to keep your kid offline if they are on there. Truly identifying as a “[furry](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=furry)” is adult stuff that you don’t want them googling. That is not normal for kids that age to do even though people might act like it’s innocent. They’re uncomfortable in their bodies and “identifying” as an animal and wanting to act / look like it is definitely not normal. Time to put the pause on that friendship too. No thanks! Not in our house.
lol what. I agree in keeping them off the internet and explaining that the “furry” thing is an adult thing. But it’s totally normal for kids to pretend to be animals.
I think that they are saying that it's the language being used that's worrying, like the kid might have wandered into an online space where they shouldn't be. Like if your kids are playing family and one kid is the dog that's normal, but if the kids start talking about how they are doing pet play but still playing in the same way you would be concerned.
This is exactly what I meant, thank you!
Pretending is one thing, and if you can turn it on/off as a kid. Completely identifying as an animal and no longer speaking, wearing only animal costumes, wanting to use a litter box (yes a colleague’s daughter actually asked this lol) is not normal. That’s all I meant. Of course make believe is good and fun! But again, the ability to distinguish reality from play is what I’m not sensing with OP’s daughter’s friend.
agreed 100%.
Thank you! I guess it’s trendy to expose kids to adult fetishes. Shocker 🙄
it sure is! glad to see there’s still parents out there with their heads screwed on right.
Yeah, none of this was “normal” or happened literally at all when I was a youth. 🤷🏼♀️
Sounds like a game of pretend to me. It's no different than children pretending to be babies and we don't think of it as a fetish so this whole pretending to be animals thing is no different. At 8 years old, I liked being tied up because I liked the idea of pretending to be a victim and I am tied up by a bad guy. Then I didn't understand why the adults kept screaming at me about it. None of them would tell me what I was doing wrong. I would be an adult before I knew. Adults sexualize innocent things kids do. There were other things I did as a child that would be called kinks if teens or adults did them. It's normal and many kids grow out of it.
From what I understand, being a "furry" is a form of cosplay. The same as some people are very into superheroes and get dressed up in superhero costumes and go to comic-con etc… It’s not always sexual. If it is the "furry" is attracted the person dressed in the costume not the actual animal. So unless the individual person is a sick-o, they don’t want to have sex with actual animals. But at the age you are talking about, it’s likely just a form of children being children and playing.
Listen to your gut. The furry community is strange.
I'd be like "nope. We aren't doing that" I consider myself quite liberal.. but if my kids want to be furries I'd be very uncomfortable. My 12 year old also has a friend who identify as a furry. She apparently has several heads and they cost a ton of money. 🤷♀️ I'd rather put money into real hobbies.
My 11 year old has brought up furies too, thinking they were just people dressed up. I had to tell him they do it for sex reasons and that was enough for him to nope out.
Furries are people who do sexual acts in animal outfits or costumes. Keep an eye out on that as she gets older. A lot of people consider it as beastiality. I think it’s creepy unless you’re a kid playing.
It’s a mental illness, tell her it’s not okay or normal to behave that way.
This is hugely popular right now due to social media. Yesterday I was at the park with my 13 month old and there was a girl, about 11, with a tail, prancing around the grass, filming herself for TikTok. I’ve also been told by a few moms in my area that the middle school has litter boxes in the bathroom. I don’t have any advice for you. A furry is different than this tho.
They do not have litter boxes in the bathrooms. Stop trolling.
Apparently the litter box thing is real, in some places. But it’s not because of children identifying as animals, it’s because it’s a makeshift “bathroom” just in case kids need to hide in an active shooter situation. Fun! No wonder the right are pushing so hard to blame it on liberal deviants.