<em>We won't be needing children's sizes for long -- sniff!</em>

I've heard for ages that girls are reaching puberty at earlier and earlier ages every year, but hadn't heard much about the boys. Of course, it's easier to know when a girl has hit puberty, but not so easy with the fellas. So when I read a couple of posts about this new research and was introduced to how they figured out when boys have increased testosterone levels -- they looked at "<a href="http://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/35122.php?from=192109">the accident hump</a>" -- I knew I had to share it with you guys.

What's the accident hump? It's kind of morbid, but the thinking is that when testosterone production peaks in boys they engage in riskier behavior and their probability of dying shoots up. This riskier stage has been starting earlier and earlier.

There is no need to panic -- the accident hump has always existed, it's just happening earlier. Those of us with smaller children will do well to enjoy their childhoods, for they are becoming more fleeting with each generation.

READ MORE: <a href="http://jezebel.com/5832438/now-girls-and-boys-are-starting-puberty-earlier">Jezebel</a>, <a href="http://blogs.babble.com/strollerderby/2011/08/19/boys-are-hitting-puberty-earlier-than-their-dads-did/">Babble</a>