In response to the recent meltdowns of Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Bynes, actress Mara Wilson explained why the child stars have acted out later in life.

“Not many child stars make it out of Hollywood alive or sane, and at any given time there are at least three former ones having very public breakdowns,” said Wilson, a former child star actress who starred in Matilda, Nine Months and Mrs. Doubtfire.

In an essay titled 7 Reasons Child Stars Go Crazy, the 25-year-old stated these reasons, including the parents of child stars being either unable or unwilling to help them. She added that stars get used to love and attention and then losing it, sexual exploitation, being unable to rebel, having no alternatives in life other than performing and not being able to escape their child star identity.

“Adults know that infatuation is fleeting, but kids don’t understand this. A year in a kid’s life seems like an eternity," said Wilson, who recently quit acting.

She said that things become normal after years of adulation.

"Just as they get used to it all, they hit puberty — which is a serious job hazard when your job is being cute," she said.

The reason that many child stars break down later in life, said Wilson, is because they couldn’t act out when they were children.

She noted that when many children were at the age where they caused trouble at home and in class, “Disney and Viacom and Fox were doing everything they could to ensure that their adorable little props weren’t causing trouble and costing them millions of dollars.”

Tags: mara wilson Amanda Bynes Lindsay Lohan