Kids Say The Darndest Things, Corrupted Little Snots

When I look at the world today, I notice many children who are living life in the spotlight. This worries me because in the past kids have had a very hard time growing up when their younger years are as celebrities. Are we putting our children out there too early?

What more perfect example to prove my point than, Macaulay Culkin. He starred in Home Alone's 1 and 2, and probably would have been in Home Alone 3, had he not been involved in a few other things.

Before his downfall, he was regarded to as the best adolescent star since Shirley Temple. VH1 ranked him as the number 2 child  in the "100 Greatest Kid Stars." He was living the dream. Making money to live off of for the rest of his life before he was even legally allowed to work. But maybe this is the problem. In 2004 he was arrested for possession of Marijuana, Xanax, and sleeping pills. He was put in rehab, and has not really been heard from since this.

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen were little girls role models in the 90's and early 2000's. They started off on the set of full house, and continued to make their own movies such as, "When In Rome," and "Winning London." The Olsen twins developed their own clothing line, and Forbes ranked them as the 11th richest women in 2002. But things could not stay perfect for long. In 2004, Mary-Kate checked into a rehab in Utah for Anorexia. There were some beliefs that she also had a drug problem but, with confidentiality of the records at the clinic, this was never proven. Ashley was posted in the National Inquirer with her eyes half open and glazed over, accused of being high. She denied these rumors. Then Mary-Kate became caught up in the Heath Ledger death. Heath Ledger had a 15 Minute long massage scheduled and when the masseuse showed up, he was found dead in his bed, naked. Heath died of an overdose. Strangely, the masseuses first two calls were to Mary-Kate Olsen, then she finally called the police. Rumors speculated that Mary-Kate was with Heath before he died, and that they were doing drugs together. But, again this was never proven. 

The Olsen twins and Culkin are not the only child stars who have been led astray. Lindsay Lohan, Demi Lovato, Jodie Sweetin, Drew Barrymore, Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense), and Corey Fieldman also had problems with substance abuse after they were child stars. Miley Cyrus has also become untamed since she began her career on the set of "Hannah Montana." She had a semi-nude photo shoot, and lately her wardrobe and her songs have not been very, "Disney Channel" of her. But what is the problem? Why do child stars have a knack to get into trouble later on in life. It could be that they have so much money, and do not know what to do with it. It could also be that their early lives were run by Hollywood, and they did not get to grow up like normal kids and go into a sort of depression because of this. And, with so much time spent away from their parents, they do not get grounded like normal kids, they do not learn wrong from right, and never develop maturity. Whatever the reason, we have a problem on our hands. With Justin Bieber never saying never, and Rebecca Black being really excited about Friday, and Willow Smith whipping her hair back and forth, we could be in for more child stars going bad very soon. Only time will tell. Hopefully these next generation children will learn from the Olsen twins, Lohans, and Culkins mistakes and get it right.