Bieverfever came and spread like wildfire. With Justin’s baby face and his sweet little voice crooning “Baby, baby, baby oh!” – who could resist? Meanwhile Hannah Montana is still every young girl’s favourite star, with her sweet southern girl appeal and her everyday-girl persona.

But there comes a time when child stars lose their innocent images. And the transition from sweet and innocent to adult isn’t always easy – just look at Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan.

That’s why two recent news stories caught our attention: Justin Bieber attacking a photographer, and Miley Cyrus seen with fresh cuts on her wrist.

Justin’s problems all started when Mariah Yeater claimed he was the father of her child. He recently admitted that he almost quit after that. He reached a point where he felt like he couldn’t do it anymore and he just wanted to be normal. Luckily his great friend and mentor, Usher Raymond, told him to toughen up because these things happen.

Lately Justin’s been all about being tougher – but he might have taken it just a bit too far when a photographer got in his face. The 18-year old star faced criminal battery charges after apparently assaulting the paparazzo at a shopping centre in California.

Then there’s young Miley – it all went downhill after the Annie Leibovitz photo shoot. Since then she’s been proving to the world that she really can’t be tamed. Revealing outfits, sexy dance moves, bong smoking and a penis cake are only the highlights.

Rumours that she cuts herself have also been around for years, but the recent photographs that show fresh cut marks on her wrist have sparked alarm – along with the fact that she’s lost 25 pounds in only two months.

Both of the young stars are also in relationships that seem very serious at their young age. Justin and Selena Gomez seem extremely cosy together, while Miley is engaged to Liam Hemsworth.

They’re not the only stars to have shocked with the world with their actions either. There was Demi Lovato’s stint in rehab for an eating disorder and self-mutilation, and the naked photos of Vanessa Hudgens all over the Internet.

Are all of these young stars simply breaking out of their innocence, just as all children do at some stage? Or are they young children displaying behaviour that is much more adult than they are?

Stories like these are on the uptake as the need for entertainment aimed at the tween and teenage market grows. Television for children from ages 8 to 12 has become a major industry with plenty of channels devoted to it. Today’s young stars’ have higher profiles than their predecessors – and that comes with bigger adult-like pressures that can easily make them crack.

Despite the term ‘child stars’ – they don’t seem to enjoy much of a childhood. They’re forced to grow up a lot faster than they should – so why are we shocked when they display the kind of behaviour we don’t expect from children?