And when The Sunday Gleaner asked her if child stars were wont to live out the childhood that had had passed them by while they were performing, she said: "Definitely! I think Michael Jackson is a perfect example of that. I said so a long time ago. It was just him trying to catch up on what he missed," Brodie-Walker said.

She made it clear at the outset that she had never worked with a child star, giving an age range for someone who would be considered such from about two or three years old, up to 16 years old, with a concentrated work at about 12 years old.

Child stars, she says, "would not have much say in handling their own matters".

In terms of distinguishing between life on stage and life off-stage, Brodie-Walker says, "I believe they would, especially if they have the right people around them," pointing out that their parents were often part of their management team.

And these parents often try to make their children's lives away from the entertainment world as normal as possible. Still, Brodie-Walker points out that the child star has "cognitive ability; they are able to distinguish between reality and the entertainment world".

regimented life

According to the psychologist, child stars often have a regimented life and, although they receive schooling, it is often not in a classroom setting with other children. In this case, the child lacks social skills and "you might see in the long run children who are reclusive, withdrawn, have difficulty with friends and sustaining relationships".

"In intimate relationships, sometimes they are not as mature as they should be," she added.

And Dr Stacey Brodie-Walker notes that when child stars become adults and do juvenile things, they end up in trouble, "because they are adults, they do not get just a slap on the wrist".

- Mel Cooke