POP princess Britney Spears has vowed to give her three-week-old son Sean Preston the one thing she never had - a normal childhood.
Born on December 2, 1981, from the age of two Britney's childhood was an endless treadmill of singing lessons, dance classes, auditions, stage shows and filming.
Her ambitious mother dragged her thousands of miles across the US from Louisiana to New York to Florida in the search for showbiz success.
Britney tells this month's Elle magazine: "Being an entertainer, especially starting at such a young age, you long to please people and become what they want to see."
And she has told friends she is determined that baby Sean will not be forced down the same route.
She describes her hope that marriage and motherhood will help her "not be influenced so much, or manipulated, which can happen in a huge way".
From the day she enrolled two-year-old Britney in the Renee Donewar school of dance in Kentwood, Louisiana, Lynne Spears has devoted her life to making her daughter a star.
Ever since she has controlled almost every aspect of her daughter's life and career.
And even now that Britney is 23 and has a young family of her own, Lynne has no intention of giving that up.
Not even the star's fledgling marriage of one year escapes her attention.
So keen is she to keep an eye on her investment, Lynne has moved into the £4million Malibu mansion in California that Britney shares with her husband Kevin Federline, 27, and Sean.
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And despite Britney's hopes that her newborn son will not be forced down the same topsy-turvy career path as his mother, he will be making one appearance in the limelight - orchestrated by his grandmother of course.
Lynne, who still keeps a very tight rein on the Britney empire, has overseen the million-pound bidding war for the first baby pictures and interview with her daughter.
SHE was furious when the whole deal was almost scuppered by a photographer taking long-range pictures from a helicopter.
With one hand rocking the cradle and another firmly steering her daughter's business interests, Lynne is leaving nothing to chance.
She has been acting as a peace-maker between Britney and Kevin who are said to be bickering since Britney returned home from hospital.
"Lynne knows that having a baby can cause a lot of stress and she has been trying to help Kevin and Britney," says a friend.
"When the couple have an argument Kevin just gets in his Ferrari and drives away to play a round of golf or be with his buddies.
"This makes Britney feel even more isolated and Lynne has been trying to help them communicate more."
But even with her all-powerful mother living with her, Britney is still emotionally fragile.
During a Kabbalah session at her home - the cultish offshoot of Judaism patronised by the likes of Madonna - the singer burst into tears and had to be put into bed by her mother who admitted to the assembled guests that her daughter was suffering from "stress".
The episode is a clear sign that despite her hopes to be free of "manipulation", Britney is still very much her mother's little girl.
From Mirror
Britney won't let her son be exploited like she was
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