Sorry, that was just my reaction when I saw this headline and story:

10 Is the New 15 As Kids Grow Up Faster

Zach Plante is close with his parents he playsbaseball with them and, on weekends, helps with work in the smallvineyard they keep at their northern California home.

Lately, though, his parents have begun tonotice subtle changes in their son. Among other things, he's announcedthat he wants to grow his hair longer and sometimes greets his fatherwith "Yo, Dad!"

"Little comments will come out of his mouth that have a bit of that teen swagger," says Tom Plante, Zach's dad.

Thing is, Zach isn't a teen. He's 10 years old one part, a fun-loving fifth-grader who likes to watch the AnimalPlanet network and play with his dog and pet gecko, the other asoon-to-be middle schooler who wants an iPod.

In some ways, it's simply part of a kid'snatural journey toward independence. But child development experts saythat physical and behavioral changes that would have been typical ofteenagers decades ago are now common among "tweens" kids ages 8 to 12.

Some of them are going on "dates" and talkingon their own cell phones. They listen to sexually charged pop music,play mature-rated video games and spend time gossiping on MySpace. Andmore girls are wearing makeup and clothing that some consider beyondtheir years.

My son, by the way, is (almost) nine.