Children wearing tails?

[ShepherdMoons]

Dd's friend at drama club has recently started wearing a tail.She sometimes wears ears.It looks quite cute but I also find it a bit odd (they are 11).Dd hasn't asked to wear a tail (yet) but wondering if this might be her next question.I appreciate there's a bit of a trend for this at the moment and seems relatively harmless but I do find it odd.AIBU?

My daughter who is 11 has a tail. She doesn’t use TikTok and does it because we have pets and it’s fun.

People are projecting their view of a sexual fetish onto children who are just having fun.

I saw a girl about that age in Morrisons wearing one the other day

Are schools really allowing kids to wear tails while shouting at other kids for not wearing correct uniform? Surely not? 11 year olds wearing tails is very odd. Very concerning if they actually think they’re cats

Stop trying to normalise this, it’s weird. Some of you people actually do need to feel shame, your child is not a cat and it’s bizarre that you’re trying to pretend everything about it is fine.

I left school ten years ago and there was at least 2 in my year group that identified as cats so it’s definitely not a new thing

A child at a club all about role playing enjoys role play. Shocker.

This seems to be somewhat of a fad. My thoughts on it would depend on age and how often. If it seemed like it was becoming problematic I wouldn’t like it. If the child was older and I thought it was heading down a sexual route ie. furries. I would probably interject and ask it to stop.

I’ve seen it, but not at a school. Girl 12/13 at a community bbq. Furry tail, prancy skip/walk, arms hands held up in front in a “squirrel” pose. My similar aged daughter felt uncomfortable and wouldn’t talk to her — normally she would be looking for a friend at an event like this. She did attract attention.

Was considering possible ND child, as I had experience with ASD boy with cat behaviors but he didn’t wear tail.

or
Coping strategy maybe for social anxiety?

Sounds like she's a Therian.

At DD's school assembly they were told they're not allowed to use the term 'furry' or comment on anyone pretending to be an animal. It's treated as bullying.

Never thought I'd miss the 90s.

@angellinaballerina7 its not about normalising it, it’s allowing children to express and be themselves. Or should everyone conform and be the same?

I do some private tutoring. I had a 12 year old turn up last week with cat ears. I know she is NT, no issues there at all. Instead of saying hello she miawed at me, then again when I asked how she was doing.

I am very brisk, I have no time for such nonsense. I reminded her I am very expensive and I have a waiting list. She could snap out of being a toddler, stop wasting her parents' money and behave in a grown up manner, or I would end the contract there and then.

She chose the sensible route and has since had a telling off from her mortified mother.

Its a symptom of too much time online, lack of supervision and generally poor parenting.

Children enjoy dressing up, I don't think it's weird!

I’m sorry but I find this so bizarre! As a pp has mentioned I suspect it’s got roots in adult sexual fetish.. I think there’s probably quite a lot wrong with intense dressing up and alternative identity for a prolonged period of time beyond about 7.

It depends.
If they're wearing them because they just think it's fun/cute then fine. Kids of all ages always have and always will want to wear things their parents think are weird/shit. If it's just for fashion - and lord knows there's some strange fashions -then it's pretty harmless; not really any different to the "Junkies Baddy Powder" t-shirts a lot of my mates wore at a similar age because of Mark Owen doing so. They had no clue, nor did their parents🤣

If it's something they're doing because they "identify as a cat" or they walk around miaowing etc. or some other thing then that's much less okay and is far too close to the furry community/fetish that some adults choose to take part in.

I noticed a girl aged around 13 wearing tails and ears on a day out recently. She was with what I assume were her parents.
Also saw at the same place and day, two young women (maybe 13 &16/17) and the younger one was walking around with what appeared to be an assistance dog, except it was a “toy” stuffed animal. Full sized and didn’t appear as though it was for play.
I found both things quite bemusing if I’m being honest.

And catch mice as one of their household chores?

I think we perhaps need to separate out the concepts of "identification" in the modern social sense and the idea that children are actually believing they're cats, dogs, or dragons. I'm sure almost all of these kids, if asked to explain, understand that they are human beings who identify with animals rather than believing themselves to be animals, physically. Perhaps they identify with the stereotypical characteristics of certain animals, or think life would be easier as an animal, or even feel a sense of kinship with some animals- all common enough feelings expressed in a more contemporary, and admittedly often confusing, way.

Not that I wouldn't be surprised if a good amount of them would claim to be literal cats just to wind up their parents and teachers, of course. There may well be an element of that involved, too.

That's a lot of 'why's' but fuck me, it blows my mind - a whole generation who is never told no!
That last part of the comment is exactly right.
When we get referrals through about children some reports advise us not to say ' no ' to them as it makes them angry.
When we trace it back 100 times out of a 100 parents have let a child have everything they want because they didn't want to say no. There comes a time when they do have to say no and the child has no resilience to handle it and all he'll kicks off.
Bloody ridiculous 🙄
We are getting more and more children like this. These children aren't ND. They just haven't got the skills to handle life.

I used to be a Werewolf.

But I’m all right……nowooooo……..

But... how can the furries who identify as cats or dogs base this as more fundamental than GENDER and get away with it? Imagine if women were to do that, you know real non-male women.

Also 11 and 12 years olds should not be dressing up in fantasy la la land when at school full stop, no matter what it is.

Oh I've just read the other comments and seen that some children actually think they are cats and wear them to school!! I've never heard of this. I thought this was just a fancy dress thing! Why don't the schools just send them home for not wearing the correct uniform??

I just showed this thread to my cat and she is fuming.