Is this too young?

[ChristinaB]

Parents: 4th-Grade Girl To Become Boy

Mom Says Youngster Has Male Brain

METHUEN, Mass. -- A fourth-grader who was attending a Methuen elementary school as a girl before February vacation has returned to school as a boy.

The parents of the 9-year-old child said the youngster was born with the body of a girl, but the brain of a boy.

They have asked that he be referred to and treated as a boy by teachers and other students, and school officials are accommodating the request. The parents have even changed the child's name.

The child's mother told The Eagle-Tribune that the family made the decision after consulting with medical professionals. She said the child is still biologically a girl.

The mother has requested that the family not be identified to protect the child.

School Superintendent C. Phillip Littlefield said there is nothing harmful about the child being in the school.