Hi. Our daughter is into Therian culture. I wouldn't say she 'identitifies' as any particular animal and I think it's wise for parents to not jump to immediate conclusions in this regard, she wears her homemade masks, tails and various accessories either at home, with her best friend on play dates and occasionally when we go to a park or woodland. She is not allowed to wear any of those things at school or anywhere we think will cause her or us a problem.
It started when she was about 9 or 10 (she is now 12), first it was a Furry thing, we instantly googled it and panicked. However over some time and further research we've come to understand more and to also realise it's not so bad as long as you are watchful of the parental settings online and make them aware that other people may find it very strange, also we tell her to not judge others in this regards their reactions to it as they are allowed to find it odd.
This is not to say we wished it wasn't a 'thing', but it is, it's been around for a very long time, and from what I can tell it's been rapidly on the rise since the pandemic. Considering the huge volume of negative content aimed at girls online it is actually a good thing that she has not been lured into the world of many girls her age who are obsessed with their appearance and are over sexualised at a young age. The Therian world is a supportive and overall positive community from our experience.
She has been very creative for as far back as I can remember and her crafting skills are incredible for someone of her age. To the extent that we may open an Etsy shop were she can sell masks, tails, badges etc for pretty good prices. This will teach her a lot about online commerce and give her some invaluable skills that they don't teach in school. She is also creating and editing her own video content (which we always check prior to posting on YouTube) which she is learning very fast. We do not allow her on Tik-Tok, Twitter, Snapchat or Instagram.
Fear of the future for our children and their mental health is a top priority. Not falling into the woke/not woke argument is also a priority. Our daughter is a strong, confident and funny individual who is obsessed with this new trend as I was with certain music when I was her age. No doubt it will soften over time, she may well be less into it and find other things to occupy herself with, but I also imagine she will always carry a bit of it with her as she grows up, we hope it will be the caring, empathetic and joyful parts of it as that is mainly what we have noticed is the by-products of allowing her to explore this period in her life. She has no signs of mental illness, she is happy and does well at school and has other 'non-Therian' friends. I'm not saying all this to stop other parents from worrying about it, because we all worry about our kids no matter what, I'm mainly posting this to see if any other parents can share a similar story to maybe add some balance to the conversation.