Warning: Exposure to Plastic Will Turn Your Son into ‘Sonya’!

Okay, maybe not exactly…

However, chemicals found in many plastics are causing little boys to act more like little girls, according to crazy new research.

If that means the boys are replacing toilet paper rolls and aren’t acting like they’re dying when all they have is a little cold, well… bring on the plastic, I say!

Here’s what it does mean:  A team at the University of Rochester studying the safety of phthalates — chemicals in the plastic used in many household objects – found that they can actually disrupt hormones.  The chemicals apparently affect the baby’s developing brain by deactivating testosterone, the male sex hormone.

The boys exposed to high levels of two phthalates in the study were less likely than other boys to play with guns, trains and cars, says the BBC, and they seemed less likely to join in “rough and tumble” games.

While some experts think phthalates may be partly responsible for lower sperm counts in men over several decades, this is the first study to link kids’ behavior to hormone-mimicking chemicals.

If this concerns you — because you strongly believe playing with guns is a really critical part of a boy’s childhood — then you should be aware that this potential effect takes place in unborn babies between the eighth and 24th weeks of pregnancy. Also, one way to reduce phthalate exposure is to cook and store food in glass, not plastic.  Although not all plastics contain phthalates, it can be difficult to know which do.

Doctors also suggest staying at least fifty feet away from Paris Hilton.