Page 5 | Should I buy my daughter a therian mask and tail?

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ThatLemonBee · 30/05/2026 23:19

Get your child some mental health help ! And for yourself too if you think this is supporting a child’s mental health . I have a child the same age and the words NO and that is not ok are just fine to tell them ! Supporting a child doesn’t mean say yes to all their nonsense!

mathanxiety · 30/05/2026 23:22

Get her an actual cat/ ferret/ hamster. Or into volunteering, drama class, sport, anything that will keep her mind occupied and her feet on the ground.

Get her off her phone or wherever else she has been absorbing all this from.

Do not go down the road of encouraging or enabling this.

ThisBirdOnThatRoof · 30/05/2026 23:22

SalmonOnFinnCrisp · 30/05/2026 20:06

Everyone is different.

For me, this would be an absolute hard no.

She cannot become a cat or a fox or whatever - i wouldnt indulge this for one second.
i also think theres a lot of bad actors (ie perverts and weirdos) occupying this space online and youd be willfully naive to encourage it.

It would also be a wake up call for me as a parent regarding my internet security settings and the level of unsupervised access I was giving my child. (Ie i had dropped the ball badly)

However... i will hold my hands up and say i'm fairly hot on this... prob more so than the average parent as my dh and I work in cyber security and big tech respectively.

We are very much in agreement on our views re: tech usage and its presence in our home. We also closely control what are children (who are younger) are exposed to as we are very much immersed in it day to day and are aware of how pervasive the damage it is to brain development, attitudes, social skills and the risks to their general safety, well being and mental health.

I'd be having several conversations and redirecting her interest elsewhere.

Edited

This sounds about right

Besidemyselfwithworry · 30/05/2026 23:23

I just wouldn’t entertain this shit
the tail bought as a gift would be gone
no tails or masks or ears or Anything else would be being bought and anything out of cardboard would be in the recycling bin

it’s just ridiculous indulging this nonsense especially at such a young age

Gillygallygosh123 · 30/05/2026 23:26

WarriorN · 30/05/2026 23:01

all children, autistic or not, do get a lot of positive proprioceptive feedback from activities that engage hands and feet - it’s good for the body, senses development and also good for bone density to be jumping around. I do believe many kids crave this movement and if not into sports, try to find other ways. It’s also calming and rewarding.

i don’t have an issue will jumping around in the woods. There no particular issue dressing up; plenty of people join theatre groups etc to do just that. It’s fully believing one is part cat or wolf which has some risks linked, especially with online access.

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Yes i bet that's true because kids are well known for moving a lot 😅 my son recently had an OT assessment and it came back he has poor proprioception and he loves jumping around / bashing into things 😅

Ive come across loads of kids dressing up as wolves, cats, dogs over the years, I've yet to come across one yet who truly believes their an animal. Some kids just really enjoy the role play aspect.

I remember being a young girl and being really cross with my mum because she wouldn't give me a bottle so I could play the baby in a game, I didn't believe I was a baby, I just wanted to play one. I think most kids, just enjoy playing.

Gillygallygosh123 · 30/05/2026 23:29

blythet · 30/05/2026 23:15

@MNLurker1345no I’m not saying the friends/classmates ‘just know’ they may be learning about it online….its obviously coming from somewhere.

my point is that parents can’t stop their children from finding out about things by policing their internet access as PPs have suggested. We need to accept they will become aware and educate them appropriately as opposed to trying to stop them
finding out about it in the first place

I'd say in the last 2 years I've seen around 6 or 7 young girls dressed up as animals whilst we've been out and about. My daughter will always go up and genuinely compliment them on their outfits 🙈

Some stuff isn't necessarily learnt online, they see things in public, are intrigued, ask their friends and find out that way. My daughter learnt about therians from word of mouth, but she didn't truly believe she was an animal and neither did her friends, they just enjoyed playing animals then went home and acted like normal girls 😅

Pearshapedpear · 30/05/2026 23:33

PinkFrogss · 30/05/2026 20:05

You need to check what she’s been looking at on the Internet asap.

And not encourage it.

This

RumPidgeon · 30/05/2026 23:34

Is your DD neurodiverse? Has she got a good social network and close friends? Personally I wouldn’t encourage any behaviour that may alienate her further from others. Stand firm and don’t buy new kit. Try and get your child to express what she’s hoping to gain from some cosplay as opposed to hiding behind it.

LeftieRightsHoarder · 30/05/2026 23:38

OP, I think some people see this ‘identifying as an animal’ fad as sweet and harmless. It would be if it was just children playing. But it is very far from that.

It’s led by adult male sex fetishists, many of whom are into bestiality, paedophilia and other practices children should be protected from. Cat ears are exactly the sort of cute thing to trap children with.

The teenage bullies were doing your DD a favour by mocking her! Remind her that dressing up is fun for games and parties, but she wouldn’t go to school with fairy wings and a wand. Help her see how silly it is. (Silly is the least of its faults, but it may be the one that would most deter a child.)

homelovingalme · 30/05/2026 23:42

pombearmum · 30/05/2026 19:55

Hi there.

my daughter who is nearly 11 has recently declared that she is a therian. She believes she is half human half cat in fact she’s even got a name for her cat self. Luna. She is so desperate to wear a mask and tail. I really don’t mind but she recently did and was horribly ridiculed by some teenagers. Who shouted at her in the park. She said she didn’t care because you shouldn’t pick on peoples beliefs.

she’s asked me for a new mask and tail for her birthday. I don’t know if I’m being a bad parent buying it for her or a bad parent trying to steer her away from it. Am I opening her up to being massively bullied? She can be whoever she wants to be in front of me and in my opinion there’s far worse things she could do or be then wearing a mask. But the outside world isn’t as supportive.

is anyone else’s child also like mine and how do you deal with the whole not being sure what’s right or wrong thing? Advice would be great please. Sometimes I just don’t know what’s best.

She's not a therian, whatever that is, so probably not best to encourage it.

homelovingalme · 30/05/2026 23:43

RumPidgeon · 30/05/2026 23:34

Is your DD neurodiverse? Has she got a good social network and close friends? Personally I wouldn’t encourage any behaviour that may alienate her further from others. Stand firm and don’t buy new kit. Try and get your child to express what she’s hoping to gain from some cosplay as opposed to hiding behind it.

What's neurodiversity got to do with a fashion trend?

MNLurker1345 · 30/05/2026 23:44

Gillygallygosh123 · 30/05/2026 23:29

I'd say in the last 2 years I've seen around 6 or 7 young girls dressed up as animals whilst we've been out and about. My daughter will always go up and genuinely compliment them on their outfits 🙈

Some stuff isn't necessarily learnt online, they see things in public, are intrigued, ask their friends and find out that way. My daughter learnt about therians from word of mouth, but she didn't truly believe she was an animal and neither did her friends, they just enjoyed playing animals then went home and acted like normal girls 😅

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This is interesting. I have 6 young girls in my family from the ages of 3 to15. Cousins and nieces. They all have friends, play dates, sleepovers, all the things that young children do but I haven’t come across this personally. And I know friends DC and DGC and it hasn’t been a thing.

I don’t think it is that common. There is a difference between role play and thinking one is or wishing to be a furry animal, one should be encouraged and one should not.

I became aware of it from MN but there was a girl on my DGDs 15, school who wanted to be a horse and spent playtime galloping around the play ground.

ByRoseBiscuit · 30/05/2026 23:44

I have a similar age daughter and there is no way I would support this or buy anything that fed into it. Hard no from me

WilfredsPies · 30/05/2026 23:46

I’m sure your DD thinks it’s all perfectly innocent but this sort of thing attracts the sort of people who would willingly and happily ruin your DD’s life beyond repair. Other children bullying her at school will be the least of your worries if she comes across any of those people.

You need to do some serious looking into her life and who she’s talking to.

Contrarymary30 · 30/05/2026 23:47

This time of year I usually flea and worm my cats . Also a visit to the Vet for their shots . Maybe suggest this . Of course you should not encourage this , it's very weird and could lead to something far worse .

Shatteredallthetimelately · 30/05/2026 23:48

She believes she is half human half cat in fact she’s even got a name for her cat self. Luna.

Seriously and you've continued to allow her to think that....some might say there's 3 letters missing off of the end of that cat name.

But the outside world isn’t as supportive.

Let's hope this doesnt become a crack pot idea the "outside world" gets forced to be Supportive about.

No wonder some DC are messed up...

WishfulThinkingToday · 30/05/2026 23:48

VeggPatch · 30/05/2026 21:01

Hi @pombearmum I have a similar child. I don't know if your DD is also autistic as mine is, but IME most girls who are into the therian thing are also autistic.

My DD has no access to social media, no smartphone, no youtube. She found this through a friend who has far more access to these things than my DD is allowed - but what are you supposed to do, when you have a child who struggles to make friends, cut them off from those too?

I found it incredibly hard at first because I am very well aware of adult furries and of the risk of grooming (I work in a related field). I was also aware of children on social media performing "quadrobics" - running around on all fours - which to the children doing it is just fun, but you can be absolutely certain that those following the accounts are not other kids. I was quite panicky about it although I tried not to show that to DD. I didn't get my DD a mask or tail when she asked for it. She made her own versions out of cardboard and old tights, it's the most creative she'd been for a while, which was actually really nice to see. We talked extensively at opportune moments about reality and fantasy, which was hard for her as these are abstract concepts. It turned out she actually had a better handle on it than we thought, but was finding reality very hard to cope with at school so was retreating into the therian fox thing - foxes can run away from humans. We spoke to the SENCO at school and asked that her teacher and 1:1 should not support it as an identity and remind her that it was play, so when she said she was a fox they'd say it's fun to pretend to be a fox, or you're good at pretending to be a fox. They were completely on board and really helped.

She still calls herself a therian but is much more clear about it being pretending to be a fox and no longer thinks she is actually part fox (hilariously she is quite disdainful about the idea of humans thinking they're not human now, I bite my lip and say nothing). She does now have a tail (a present from someone else) and she was delighted with it but I was equally delighted when she said she was going to put it in her dressing up box for when she does dressing up. We're both now happy that she can get on with her dressing up play as she likes and if it's a bit unconventional or young for her age, then that's fine. She still has no SM and no smartphone. I think she will grow out of it.

Good luck. I can tell you that Mumsnet is even more fearful about this than I was, and that any advice to ridicule your child to alter their behaviour is just as harmful as it would be in any other scenario.

Dear OP,

Exactly the same as VeggPatch. I allowed my child to wear the clothes and be a therian, and for a while she happily played with her group of friends as a coyote (she was 10/11, year 6). This was a great time for creativity - she made over 30 masks (different animals), she made a huge dragon mask too. I don't know how this episode came about (no internet access), but she explained that she believed herself a Buddhist and she felt like she was reincarnated (even though she didn't know much about it). I would also second getting your DD tested for autism, because it turns out most of my children seem to be on the spectrum including my DD.

However, my DD and her friends got into an awful experience at the park where a group of boys started kicking one of them. This was over a year ago and I still feel like she suffers some sort of PTSD and depression from this. She stopped being a Therian a week or so after this incident. I know that they were being weird but it made me sad that this happened, and I miss that spark of creativity she had, it made her so happy.

Therefore, in my opinion this is something that is creative (not at all sinister at this age!), but should be done at home where it is safe.

WilfredsPies · 30/05/2026 23:49

homelovingalme · 30/05/2026 23:43

What's neurodiversity got to do with a fashion trend?

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It’s not a fashion trend. And young girls who are neurodiverse are particularly at risk from getting drawn into this sort of nonsense.

Badlifeday · 30/05/2026 23:51

I've just googled the difference between furry and Therian and the latter seems worse - a belief that you are an animal rather than just that you enjoy dressing up as one.
My dh sometimes goes to comic cons as a Star Trek character - he's never actually believed he could beam himself up to the Enterprise.

MNLurker1345 · 30/05/2026 23:53

@Shatteredallthetimelately “…some might say there's 3 letters missing off of the end of that cat name.”

You just made me laugh so much.

Blarn · 30/05/2026 23:53

My nine year old and her friends met a child in a park who was wearing ears and tail of a wold because they were one. They thought she was absolutely crazy. My eldest daughter who is the most accepting, open minded young girl also thinks it's ridiculous. I would be steering your daughter from this and also would be trying to find out where she got the idea from.

Shatteredallthetimelately · 30/05/2026 23:53

Oh dear lordy...

George Galloway came to mind then..

Gillygallygosh123 · 30/05/2026 23:55

WishfulThinkingToday · 30/05/2026 23:48

Dear OP,

Exactly the same as VeggPatch. I allowed my child to wear the clothes and be a therian, and for a while she happily played with her group of friends as a coyote (she was 10/11, year 6). This was a great time for creativity - she made over 30 masks (different animals), she made a huge dragon mask too. I don't know how this episode came about (no internet access), but she explained that she believed herself a Buddhist and she felt like she was reincarnated (even though she didn't know much about it). I would also second getting your DD tested for autism, because it turns out most of my children seem to be on the spectrum including my DD.

However, my DD and her friends got into an awful experience at the park where a group of boys started kicking one of them. This was over a year ago and I still feel like she suffers some sort of PTSD and depression from this. She stopped being a Therian a week or so after this incident. I know that they were being weird but it made me sad that this happened, and I miss that spark of creativity she had, it made her so happy.

Therefore, in my opinion this is something that is creative (not at all sinister at this age!), but should be done at home where it is safe.

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I'm really sorry that happened to your daughter. My dd is also autistic and enjoyed dressing up as a wolf. I didn't let my daughter dress up in public as I was worried things like this would happen. Her and her friends would play at mine or their houses or a small patch of grass directly outside my front garden

My DD doesn't have access to the Internet or social media but has always loved dressing up. As a toddler she loved frozen and would dress up as elsa every single day. When she found out about therians, she loved it. She's currently hyperfocused on building a jokers mask for Halloween

I hope your girl gets her spark back soon x

astrozenica · 30/05/2026 23:57

I would wonder who put this idea into her head. Get her off social media. Definitely don't pander to it. The furry community is full of creeps and sexual predators. I would be extremely concerned if my child expressed interest in therian and furry stuff.

WishfulThinkingToday · 30/05/2026 23:57

WilfredsPies · 30/05/2026 23:49

It’s not a fashion trend. And young girls who are neurodiverse are particularly at risk from getting drawn into this sort of nonsense.

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I was curious about this link between autism and identifying as an animal, so this is what AI had to say -

Should I buy my daughter a therian mask and tail?

Should I buy my daughter a therian mask and tail?

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