Child identifies as a wolf ... WTF?

This was the inevitable consequence of the trans rights movement. If we tell boys they can identify as girls and vice versa, it's not a huge leap to them identifying as animals or light bulbs or some such nonsense. White can identify as black. Young as old. Able bodied as disabled etc etc. And there are plenty of idiots out there who will affirm them.

👏👏👏👏

Has the world gone mad.? I despair at situations like this I really do.

Strong skepticism here.

Kids have phones and their phones have cameras. They make TikTok videos of themselves every time they sneeze. If children were actually living as wolves throughout the school days, their classmates would be posting video evidence of it constantly. You wouldn't need to hear about it on the radio. That is like the platonic ideal of something that would go viral.

It's like how every right-wing pundit in America knows about a child at their kid's school who identifies as a cat and wees in a litter box. But there are no credible photos of these litter boxes in schools.

There IS kitty litter being stored in some Anerican schools, but the reason for it is far more disturbing than transcats. It's there in case an active shooter enters the building and the children/teachers have to shelter in place for hours without access to toilets.

I’ve come across it in a work setting. It’s happening alright.

Exactly

furries are very real, and there are actually people who think these identities should be respected - one of them was featured in the Radio 4 discussion!

Yes, I thought Artemisia Sanguisorba didn't really sound like she had the courage of her convictions with what she was saying. Too much hesitation and going quiet. She sounded like another one who wants to be seen lapping from the right water source.

Exactly! There's always the "Let kids be kids" malarkey being thrown out there...but come on! There's a bloody shelf-life to that, surely?!

On a serious note, the fact the parents are told terms like "therian" and "furry' from the mouths of their kids, and go along with it is disturbing. I said in the other thread, if a kid came home saying they were a submissive and wanted a collar, parents would be hitting the roof.

Same thing. Different fetish. But because animals are cute they just brush it off as innocent and naive. It might be, to begin with. But just as you'd not let your 11 year old child go out in BDSM gear, these parents shouldn't be letting their child go out in furry costumes.

It's naive in the extreme!

Some of the jokes on this thread are pretty bad taste IMO.

If there's a child who genuinely believes they are a wolf, that sounds like a serious mental health condition. If they are pretending to be a wolf, that should be treated as pretence / play and not accepted at school. Sounds like a cry for attention / help and needs to be dealt with appropriately. Not really a joking matter in either case.

I identify as a rich person, it's not working out too well

I identify as a rich person, it's not working out too well

Have you started parenting yet or are you still trying to be your child's friend?

(you're the problem everyone else is talking about, just in case you didn't know)

It's OK someone will have referred them to CAHMS - they'll spend a couple of years on a waiting list and be fine by 2027

Most US states would allow you to shoot him!

I sexually identify as a microwave dinner

because Im ready in 5 minutes

look nothing like my photos

and Im just satisfying enough for you to want me again when you’re desperate..

The messaging needs to be - you may pretend to be anything you like, be that a girl if you're a boy, a wolf if you're a person, or whatever else you believe helps your happiness and wellbeing. But you shouldn't lose sight of the fact that you are pretending and role playing, and that there is a time and a place where this is OK (in private, or with people happy to go along with it) and a time and a place where you to behave in accordance with reality. As far as school is concerned, lessons are the latter. Breaks could be the former as long as you're not being disruptive to other people. I don't think that is particularly ground breaking or difficult for adults to implement.

Adults need to set boundaries - for all children. The impact on other children of seeing adults take seriously a child in the grip of a delusion that they're a wolf is serious. Compelling children to "respect" the child's identity? Blurring the boundaries between fact and fiction? No wonder kids mental health is wrecked if they encounter adults incapable of distinguishing between fact and reality

Exactly this. When did we lose the ability to set sensible boundaries?

They're just bringing their howl self to school. It's fine if it's not against the school aroo-les.

Presumably the BBC fact checked thoroughly before the programme so we can safely assume that this IS happening.
So it raises the question about why any school is going along with this? Other than little children play acting as a helicopter, astronaut, pony etc, no teenager should be acting out like this in school.

Adults need to set boundaries - for all children. The impact on other children of seeing adults take seriously a child in the grip of a delusion that they're a wolf is serious. Compelling children to "respect" the child's identity? Blurring the boundaries between fact and fiction? No wonder kids mental health is wrecked if they encounter adults incapable of distinguishing between fact and reality.

Well, exactly! My DS, who is six, often likes to pretend he is a cat, otter, dinosaur, rabbit, etc (he's not particular 🤣). If he is still doing this at 12, I will think I have failed somewhere!

In bad weather, perhaps they could use a litter tray in the corner of the classroom

I work at a school where a child identifies as a cat. Many of these stories are absolutely true.

I wonder this we did in in primary school at break.

Both my DDs in Y7 and one in Y 8 wore cat ear hairbands - they didn't think they were cats - didn't wear tails just they and some of their mates in early secondary who also had them thought cat ears were cute. Now uniform rules mean such hair bands wouldn't be allowed. They are perfectly normal teens - one at Uni doing well and one doing GCSE - it's only remember as their school photos that year they had hairbands on.

I supposed these days more students and families do push things to extreme but I also wonder if there's not some urban myth building and exaggeration to make wider social point going on

This. It is not normal behaviour and needs professional psychiatric intervention. Possibly the school don't know how else to deal with it until the child gets professional help for a complex situation. Last thing any school would want is to impact negatively on a child's mental health

I know an autistic girl who pretends to be a wolf. She doesn't actually think she's a wolf, she just play acts. She tends not to in school.

At primary school, another autistic girl used to pretend to be various animals. Again, 'identifying as' is too strong, and she grew out of it.