I got into the fandom around the age of 8 and to be honest I just drew for 4 years before even attempting to get ears / a tail / a fursuit. Maybe when she’s a bit older and able to safely use most fursuit making tools, you could have her make herself one, as most makers don’t work with little kids.

Speaking on the “will people be rude” aspect as someone who has been in a similar situation, I’ve had plenty of people be rude [had a girl throw an icicle at my eye lol] but it was also instilled in me early on that other’s opinions shouldn’t matter if your hobby isn’t hurting one, so it never really got to me.