Personally, I think, in the case of Spears, there is more than enough blame to be shared by everyone involved: parents, Brit, paparazzi...and the public. If people weren't so interested in every little detail of a stranger's life, "stars" would just be regular people. Then whatever psychological issues they might have (or their parents might cause), would never reach the proportions they do. I neither need nor want to know what colour underwear Brit wears--if she does her job, she's fine by me.
One quibble, though, Julie.
there are many child stars that grow up just fine (for example, the Olsen twins)
I'm not sure if I'd classify the twins as "just fine." Certainly, they've done better than Lohan or Spears, but eating disorders are a serious side effect to the pressures of life. Although, except for the hounding by the press, we would never have even known about this.
The child star that jumps to mind for me is Shirley Temple. She did her job, grew up, sustained stable personal relationsihps and became an average to good diplomat. I think her success is in direct proportion to the lack of media invasion in her life as a child. I can't say I'm a fan of her films, but I admire her stability.
