What to do if your child is a furry?
Asked by: Edwina Collins MD | Last update: May 28, 2025Score: 4.6/5 (30 votes)
Be as involved in your child's furry activities as you would be with their other interests, hobbies, and activities. Check out their art. Appreciate their sewing projects. These types of creative outlets can be a great way to have a conversation with your child about their interests in the furry fandom.
Should I be worried if my child is a furry?
The short answer: No. The furry fandom is generally a safe space. While the stigma may suggest otherwise, there is nothing inherently inappropriate about being a furry.
What to do if your child identifies as a furry?
What Can I Do About It? The best advice that we can give if your child is a furry or you suspect they are is to simply embrace it. The last thing you want is to completely alienate your child and make them feel like they can't speak to you about their interests or problems that they are having.
What causes people to become furries?
Mostly, they do it just because they like it. This is especially true for kids. Kids love to play pretend and love to dress up. And once they learn about the ``furry'' culture, they may be drawn to it because it gives them a means to dress up and pretend to be like the creatures they love.
What is the average age to be a furry?
Among their findings were that the average adult furry is between 23 and 27 years of age, with more than 75% of furries being 25 years of age or younger, and 88% of adult furries being under the age of 30.
What to do if your kid is a furry
Why does my son want to be a furry?
Youth come to the Furry fandom as a means of finding their way and their people. This fandom becomes a safe harbor to explore who they are and what they want. The support they receive in the fandom allows them to grow in new ways.
Is furry a mental disorder?
In sum, generally speaking, there is little relationship between furries and clinical diagnoses of psychological dysfunction. Across several studies, furries did not differ significantly from the general population with regard to the prevalence psychological conditions.
Why are kids walking around with tails?
“Tails” are a clothing accessory worn by those who identify with “furry” culture. Our tails are a form of expression, a way of saying “Hey, we're furries and we're proud. This tail represents my personality shape-wise and color-wise.
Are furries part of LGBT?
To summarize, furries are far more likely to be non-heterosexual than non-furries, though it would be inaccurate to characterize the furry fandom as homosexual, as the most frequently-occurring single sexual orientation among furries is still “exclusively heterosexual.”
What does it mean if a kid calls you a furry?
According to research from a range of sources, furries are people who have an active interest in animal characters with human characteristics.
Is being a furry ok?
Is being a furry bad? No. In fact, it has many advantages for participants, such as finding community, making friends, expressing themselves, and much more.
How do you treat a furry?
The advice boils down to two rules of thumb: Don't be invasive, and remember that fursuits are hot as hell. It's OK to ask furries questions, says Cole, but remember that they're people with feelings. Plus some prefer not to talk. Ask to take pictures, and ask if you can ask further questions.
What are the signs of being a furry?
Many furries create a “fursona,” or an anthropomorphized animal character version of themselves, and they use this as their avatar in online furry communities. Some furries even wear costumes or furry accessories (like animal ears or tails), but furries do not believe that they're actual animals themselves.
Can furries be normal?
As Casper said, “Furries are normal people. There are furries at WashU, and they are human beings just like anyone else.” Even amid backlash, furries remain positive, support an inclusive environment where people can be themselves, respond compassionately to ignorance, and showcase themselves as valuable people.
Can a 9 year old go to a furry convention?
Minors under 13 years of age must have a chaperone present and with them at all times they are in convention space.
Why do kids dress as furries?
Some people create a "fursona," or an animal persona they dress up as with "distinct personalities, histories, relationships and attitudes," according to Furscience. For some kids, the practice is a fun hobby or a way to cope with feeling like they don't fit in.
What does wearing a furry tail mean?
A Furry's tail. Anthropomorphic squirrel with bushy tail. The tail plays an important role in furry culture, since its absence distinguishes humans from most other animals. It is thus an easy symbol of furryness, and many furs will wear fake tails for this reason.
When did furries become popular?
The novels of Felix Salten published between 1926 and 1945 which established the precedents of what would later be called furry fiction. With the advent of animation and comic books in the first half of the 20th century, anthropomorphic animals became a popular phenomenon with fans of all ages.
What is the hardest mental illness to live with?
Borderline personality disorder is one of the most painful mental illnesses since individuals struggling with this disorder are constantly trying to cope with volatile and overwhelming emotions.
What is lycanthropy syndrome?
Clinical Lycanthropy is a rare syndrome, described since Antiquity, within which the patient has the delusional belief of turning into a wolf. Little is known on its clinical or therapeutic correlates.
Are furries spiritual?
While the majority of furries do not consider themselves to be religious (blue bars above), the fandom is far more diverse with regard to spiritual beliefs; furries are as likely to be spiritual as they are to be non-spiritual (orange bars above).
Should I be worried my child is a furry?
Should I be worried that my child is a furry? Based on our research, we find no more reason to be concerned that your child is a furry than you would be if they were in the Star Wars fandom or the Sherlock Holmes fandom. Fandoms often have in common things like discussion groups, costumes, and public events.
What age do people become furries?
This is consistent with the second row, where furries say they began identifying as furries at the age of about 16-17, as well as with our prior findings1 that the average furries is in their early- to-mid-twenties.
How do you explain to your parents that you are a furry?
How I would do it is show them some art about it or start a conversation about it. See what they have to say about it and tell whoever seems more approving about it, or don't do it at all. This goes for friends too. Tell the more trustworthy ones first, but I always plan out how its going to go in my head.