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Entertainment Weekly

Demi Lovato says she wouldn’t let her kids become stars before 18, wants them to have 'the childhood I didn’t'

Shania Russell
3 min read
Demi Lovato says she wouldn’t let her kids become stars before 18, wants them to have 'the childhood I didn’t'
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"I’d say, ‘Let’s study music theory and prepare you for the day you turn 18, because it’s not happening before that.'"

Former child star Demi Lovato has no plans to let her future kids run wild in "La La Land."

The 32-year-old singer, who uses she/they pronouns, recently reflected on her own experience growing up in the spotlight and knows exactly what she’ll tell her kids if they ever want to pursue a career in Hollywood.

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"I’d say, ‘Let’s study music theory and prepare you for the day you turn 18, because it’s not happening before that,'” Lovato told The Hollywood Reporter. “'Not because I don’t believe in you or love you or want you to be happy, but because I want you to have a childhood, the childhood that I didn’t have.’”

Related: Here's why Demi Lovato sang 'Heart Attack' at AHA cardiovascular disease event

<p>Rachpoot/Bauer-Griffin/Getty</p> Demi Lovato

Rachpoot/Bauer-Griffin/Getty

Demi Lovato

Related: Demi Lovato reflects on how 'gross' it was to date older men when she was younger

The “Heart Attack” singer, who is currently engaged to musician Jordan “Jutes” Lutes, added that they would also encourage their kids to "come up with a backup plan, which is something I wish I’d done because sometimes I think it’s time for me to move on, but I’m in this weird position in my career because I still rely on music for my income.”

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Speaking from experience, Lovato noted how child stardom distorted not only her relationship with her parents, but her own role as a child.

"Having the child be the breadwinner almost inherently changes the dynamic of a family, and then it becomes, like, how do you discipline that breadwinner?,” she said, recalling the challenges her mother and stepfather faced. “I mean, they’d try to ground me, but I was an egotistical child star, and I thought I was on top of the world. I’d be like, ‘But I pay the bills,’ and what do you say to that?”

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Lovato started in the entertainment business at just 6 years old, when she became one of the young leads of Barney & Friends alongside fellow future star, Selena Gomez. By age 15, Lovato found her way to the Disney Channel following a nationwide talent search for the network’s "Next Big Thing."

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"I was filled with gratitude, and there was this sense of wonder and excitement,” they said of their initial reaction to success. "It was very much the honeymoon phase of my career, right before the train got moving in a way where I couldn’t pump the brakes.”

<p>Hit Entertainment/Everett Collection</p> Demi Lovato on 'Barney & Friends'

Hit Entertainment/Everett Collection

Demi Lovato on 'Barney & Friends'

Related: Everything we learned from Demi Lovato's docuseries Dancing With the Devil

Lovato soon became one of the network’s biggest stars as the lead in both her own series, Sonny With a Chance, and the Camp Rock films. In addition to her onscreen work, she has recorded several albums including Don't Forget and Here we Go Again. In recent years, the singer has been candid about her struggles with substance abuse, and an eating disorder during her rise to fame. Lovato told the outlet that she remembers very little about her time at the network, following the first Camp Rock movie.

“I think I’d passed the threshold of what I could withstand emotionally and physically,” she explained. “And I didn’t realize that child stardom could be traumatic — and it isn’t traumatic for everyone, but for me, it was.”

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Lovato previously explored their rise to stardom and life in the public-eye via her four-part YouTube docuseriesDancing With the Devil, but will once again delve into the struggles of child stardom in the Hulu documentary Child Star. The buzzy doc, which marks Lovato’s directorial debut, sees her addressing her personal experiences and having intimate conversations with fellow former child stars, including Drew Barrymore, Christina Ricci, JoJo Siwa, and Kenan Thompson.

Child Star will debut on Hulu on Sept. 17.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.

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