Any "fluffies" (children identifying as cats) at your child's school?

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I had no idea this was a thing until this week. Parents are fully supportive. Is this happening across the UK? Apparently they're being provided with a litter tray in a private room. I thought being allowed to wear ears and a tail was going beyond reasonable but the litter tray seems completely unhygienic and a step too far in role playing how they feel about their identity.

Oh ok

I thought it was going to be a joke about how some were none were neeeeeowww!

What I'm saying is, you shouldn't be surprised that people don't trust schools to react sensibly to a fad of children identifying as animals, when so many teachers have lost the plot regarding gender.

As for DfE guidance on gender, it has been well publicised that there was almost none, until draft guidance was issued a couple of months back. The NEU Union recently voted to oppose the implementation of this guidance - sadly sexist, damaging, anti scientific beliefs hold too much sway in the education sector.

Wrong many of you "know of" some.
No one has stated yet that they have actually seen any children identifying as cats or any of the behaviours described .

DD is being called a lesbian atm, guess what? She isn't, despite a bunch of arseholes promoting that rumour.

@Underthinker of course you can be surprised. There's no real evidence, no proof, no case law .

There's a kid at DD's school that identifies as a pan , so the teachers let her hang out in the kitchen at break and lunch.

If anyone is willing to believe that, that's extremely concerning.

As an aside, I'm still wondering what adjustments have been made for the kid that identifies as a moon.

This post is a load of bollocks! Where's the evidence of NHS staff turning up at work as cats?! Don't be ridiculous!

This is such bullshit 😁If a child turned up in my classroom saying they were a cat, I’d tell them not to be so ridiculous and to get on with their work!

@ArseholeCatIsABlackAndWhiteCat
There's no evidence for most of the threads on MN, we can believe each posters scenario or not based on what seems plausible. In this case I believe that some kids identify as/with animals. I think it's probably more based on imagination and make believe as compared to gender identification, which has more complex roots. I believe most schools wouldn't encourage or entertain it for 5 seconds, but I believe a few teachers have an ideology that says if you identify as something you absolutely are it.

But that's not what it is being said is it?

It is stated as fact that a lot of these kids exist, and that their schools are supporting and encouraging these behaviours and making adjustments for it.

People are insisting it's happening in this or that unnamed school and everyone is turning a blind eye to pupils walking an all fours and hissing at other students. Or meowing in lessons or whatever else.
It's not the same thing.

Hell the litter tray thing has been debunked everywhere. It still gets mentioned. OP started with it. When that is challenged you just get "oh that might not be true but my hairdresser's dogwalker's son goes to school with one and got hissed at".

I'm happy to gave a discussion about the how's and why's it might be happening (children not schools wise) but I refuse to accept it's some kind of epidemic based on nothing.

Shit like this is how schools end up having to send letters about something that is NOT happening , people lynched , kids getting death threats ,anti vaxxers and conspiracy theories.

We tell our kids to not believe everything they see on the internet, but as adults we set a very poor example.

In what way do teachers pander to someone thinking they're a cat? Sounds like the litter tray bit was definitely a hoax. So they're allowed to wear clip on ears / tail? Is that the extent of it? I'm struggling to think how this could be indulged, even if a person wanted to indulge it! Do they eat mice? Refuse to speak except in meows? Are they exempt from homework? Are they allowed to nap on sunny window ledges??

I hope it is true.

This has to be the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard

@Underthinker well most schools do act sensibly on gender, but if a parent tells you that Alfie now wishes to be called Izzy, we have to go along with that.
If you don't trust schools and teachers or have issues with gender identification, those are other issues. Start another thread
However. The topic of this thread is self identification as animals, which no school accepts.

This is ten pages of it turning out to be no more than rumour and lots of posters managing to be outraged about it anyway.

Exactly. I think people want to believe it, in the face of all other evidence, I suppose it's just quite an easy rumour to spread.

As a child, I identified as a horse-many of us did.

There are very many people on this thread who really need to read Tim Harford's book 'How To Make The World Add Up'.

Paying particular attention to the first 'rule' he gives.

@Maireas @ChristmasFluff...and many of them will think others lack critical thinking.

Well, they're the ones providing no evidence at all about a wild claim.

@ArseholeCatIsABlackAndWhiteCat
But that's not what it is being said is it?

Different people are saying different things.
A few people seem to have believed every wild claim, but equally there are some people suggesting the whole phenomena is made up. The truth is likely somewhere in the middle.

People will seriously believe any old shit

@Underthinker So what would the "middle" be, between those who repeat hoaxes and rumours and those who have evidence to the contrary?

This is an unlikely tale and I’m feline that the rumour is untrue.

Some people need paws for thought.

Middle ground : Yes there is a small subculture of children identifying as animals and wearing cat ears etc. But no school has provided litter trays for pupil use.

A lot of people's tone here : None of this is happening, you people are idiots.