When you think of child stars, many different things may come to mind. Perhaps you think of Hannah Montana, The Amanda Show, or maybe The Parent Trap. However, if you think of how those child stars ended up, you might think of Miley Cyrus, the girl who “twerked” at the MTV Video Music Awards. You may think about Amanda Bynes, the girl who allegedly threw a bong out of her apartment window. You also might think of Lindsay Lohan, the girl who has been in and out of rehab too many times to count. So the question is: what makes child stars turn out this way?

Child stars are what many children aspire to be. These people are role models, and many kids look up to them. They have money, fame, and millions of people who adore them. Unfortunately, it’s not that glamorous.

“Before I thought they were inspirations to the young women growing up,” said freshman Dominic Vasquez. “Now I look at them and I believe their career cannot recover from what they’ve done.”

What we often forget is the struggles these children face, even at their young age. Not only do they have to face the normal struggles of an average kid growing up, but they have to do it under a microscope. Every flaw is blown up for everyone to see, and every move they make is viewed by millions of people.

”If you go into acting too soon as a child I think it corrupts you later on,” said freshman Jarrod Rodriguez.

Also, some child actors get their start by being “pushed” into acting by their parents. They can practically be shoved into the spotlight.

“My mom made me join swim team when I was little and I hated it. I would not participate to try and get out of it.” said freshman Owen Standridge.

This may be the beginning of their future problems. Forcing a child to do something is difficult and could be traumatizing for them. Parents may only be thinking of the fame and fortune but not of the long term consequences of being in the public eye.

Kids who start acting at a young age are constantly under the scrutiny of millions of people.  Some child actors have said they felt trapped. Every mistake made was constantly viewed and judged by an audience. So a child star may not have enjoyed the phases many teens enjoyed and subsequently felt the need to rebel.

“They aren’t able to properly mature like normal kids because there’s just always been too much attention on them,” said Law Studies teacher, Ms. Ameenuddin.

Also, constantly being under the pressure to be perfect, stars may feel the need to act out. Many child stars’ parents lose control of their kids. In 2010, when Miley Cyrus had her salvia scandal, her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, felt he had very little control over his daughter.

“She used to inspire me but now she’s [promiscuous],” said sophomore Rebecca Bible.

As these children grow up, they may want to leave their harmless pasts behind them. They want to be recognized as the person they are now, not the naive little child they once were. Thus, they go to drastic measures to show the public they are not as innocent. They may pierce their cheeks, try setting houses on fire, shave their head, or hit a paparazzi’s car with an umbrella. Although this might seem pretty extreme, they are sometimes willing to do absolutely anything and everything to be viewed differently. Not every actor feels the need to go to extremes to prove they are adults; some do so by choosing more mature movie roles.

However, becoming a child actor does not always lead to a troubled adulthood.  Many child actors have managed to survive their accomplishments without significant problems.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt who starred on 3rd Rock from the Sun, Hillary Duff who acted on Disney Channel as Lizzie McGuire, Emma Watson who was in the Harry Potter movie franchise for years, and many more seem to have navigated their stardom successfully.

Child stars have always had a big impact on society. Child stars and celebrities will always be around to impact kids. Some have evidently not turned out to be as successful as others. The reason why this happens varies. Whether children are raised by their parents or were raised by fame, childhood is always difficult.