At one point in our childhood, we dreamed of becoming famous actors and actresses in front of the camera, being watched on the big screen, and being able to buy all the toys we want. What’s not to love, right? Just imagine seeing your name on the marquee or posters, or being greeted by people you had just met. Sometimes, however, the fame and glory can get so much for kids who grew up before the eyes of the public.

Suddenly it feels like not everything is about popularity and stardom, that everything feels too much about the industry. Although this is not the case for all child stars, there are certainly those who had hit rock bottom despite their successful career when they were still kids. Here are some of those who went down the wrong path:

Amanda Bynes

‘90s kids would probably know who Amada Bynes is even though she’s not that active in the TV nor movie industry anymore. You can say that she has a natural talent in acting, having bagged a commercial when she was just seven when most of us would only care about tea parties and playgrounds. After that project, she went on to carve her name in the entertainment industry by joining the cast of “The Secret Garden,” “The Sound of Music,” and “Annie.”

Obviously, these are huge acting stints, but it was about to be followed by bigger things, including a Nickelodeon TV comedy show “All That” and coinciding was her own show, “The Amanda Show.” Her success was nowhere near stopping, it seemed at the time, as she landed on significant acting roles, but after which, she went downhill – her name and face would regularly appear on tabloids and gossip sites.

She was embroiled in messy things, including a lot of car accidents and even an incident where she threw out a smoking device outside the window of her apartment. Bynes also started a fire in California, which made authorities put her on a psychiatric hold. By this time, as per reports, she turned her life around, mending broken relationships with her loved ones.

Shia LaBeouf

Best known for starring in “Transformers,” Shia LaBeouf started out in comedy in his hometown, before trying his luck in the bigger scene, that’s why he sounded and acted so naturally in front of the cam, as evident in the Disney Channel comedy series “Even Stevens,” where he played the youngest child in the family that’s full of antics.

He was so effective in playing Louis Stevens that he bagged the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children’s or Pre-School Children’s Series, which may have paved the way for bigger roles after the conclusion of the show in 2003. Little did people know that behind his quirks, he was verbally and mentally abused by his unstable father when he was young, which may have taken a toll on him.

When he was 19, he threatened his neighbor with a kitchen knife, thereby prompting police to arrest him. LaBeouf also plunged his car into his neighbor’s, which was allegedly blocking his garage. Two years after, he refused to leave a Walgreens store which got him arrested again. Not long after, his hand had to undergo surgery after a car crash.

Demi Lovato

Demi Lovato was one of those kids who literally grew up in front of the camera. She started out in the biz with Selena Gomez in the children’s show “Barney & Friends,” and would later on become one of the biggest child stars of Disney Channel. She was cast in “As the Bell Rings,” before her big break in “Camp Rock,” which spawned sequels that also starred the songstress.

Shortly after the success of her starring film, she went on to sign for “Princess Protection Program,” a film which she costarred with Gomez, and after which, she got her own show, “Sonny with a Chance.” While her acting seemed to be heading upwards, her singing career also flourished, releasing her own hits like “This Is Me.”

As much as that sounded near perfect, it wasn’t smooth-sailing for Lovato. In 2008 during a tour with the Jonas Brothers, she started using an illegal substance, to which she immediately got addicted to so much so that she can’t stop using it even when she was on a plane.

But this wasn’t evident with her demeanor in front of other people, as a year after the tour, she even helped raise funds for charity alongside friends Gomez and the Jonas Brothers. However, she finally admitted that she had a problem in 2011, when she would enter herself in rehab to be treated from several issues, including an eating disorder.

Coincidentally, it was during her stay at the facility when she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In 2013, she released a book titled “Staying Strong: 365 Days a Year,” which aims to inspire other people going through the same things she had undergone. Since then, she had become a champion for body positivity.