Bieber's problem: Too much money

Justin Bieber turned 19 on March 1. He won't be able to claim the "teen" in his pop star title for much longer.

The year 2013 wasn't very kind to Bieber; a paparazzo died in oncoming traffic after attempting to take a photo of the singer's car. A week later, photos hit the Web alleging marijuana use by Bieber. The singer kept his sense of humor through the ordeal, joking about it in his first stint as host of "Saturday Night Live." Here he performs in Washington in December.

Bieber cleans up at the American Music Awards in November, but the young artist is left out completely when the Grammy nominations are announced a few weeks later. Add an alleged murder plot to the mix, and it's fair to say December 2012 wasn't the best month for the Biebs.

Bieber's relationship with Selena Gomez seemed to end at the end of 2012, although their actions sparked rumors of reconciliation just about every other week. Regardless of their on-again, off-again status, Bieber chose to take his mom, Pattie Mallette, as his date to the 2012 American Music Awards.

The Biebs has a knack for concert mishaps. He managed to run into a wall of glass backstage in Paris in June 2012, and in the fall of that year, he got sick onstage before moving on with his performance in Glendale, Arizona. Here he performs at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in October 2012.

In June 2012, the singer was all smiles as he held baby brother Jaxon at the MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto.

Bieber's immense fan base comes out in full force when the singer releases his album "Believe." The disc not only went to No. 1, but it also had the year's biggest entry on the Billboard 200. How many can do that and graduate from high school (which he did in 2012) at the same time?

Bieber makes his bread and butter as a teen pop phenom, but his social circle is wide. His appearance as part of boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s entourage at a fight in May 2012 had everyone doing a double take. Lil Wayne and 50 Cent were also on hand.

When you're Justin Bieber, you get a $100,000 electric sports car for your 18th birthday -- and on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show, no less.

The Biebs attends the NRJ Music Awards in January 2012, but he stays busy giving back when he's not hitting the red carpet. A month later, he made a special Valentine's Day trip to a girl suffering from cancer. Photos he shared from their time together quickly went viral.

Bieber had some of the "most influential hair" of 2011 and also was ranked as one of the most charitable stars. Here, he showed off his style with Paris Jackson at the Michael Jackson hand and footprint ceremony at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.

Bieber was embroiled in a baby mama scandal when he attended the 2011 American Music Awards with Selena Gomez, but you wouldn't know it by looking at the happy couple. A year later, Bieber and Gomez would no longer be an item.

Bieber attends the MTV Video Music Awards in August 2011 with a snake on one hand and then-girlfriend Selena Gomez holding on to the other. He won the best male video award for "U Smile" that night.

Madame Tussauds had everyone seeing double when Bieber's wax figure was unveiled in March 2011 in London.

Bieber shows off on the basketball court at the 2011 BBVA NBA All-Star Celebrity Game in Los Angeles. Even former NBA player Scottie Pippen said he was surprised by Bieber's skills.

The pop idol attends the Los Angeles premiere of "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never," a 3-D documentary on his rise to stardom, in February 2011. He's accompanied by Usher and manager Scooter Braun.

At 16, Bieber was already an author. Here he promotes his book, "First Step 2 Forever: My Story," at a New York bookstore in November 2010.

Complete with a letterman jacket and a drum solo, Bieber surprises fans in an outdoor performance at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles in September 2010.

By early 2010, Bieber had notched a chart-scaling album with "My World" and was ready to release "My World 2.0," which contained the single "Baby." Here, Bieber performs at the Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam in Miami Beach in February 2010.

The Stratford, Ontario, native first attracted attention on YouTube. Here Bieber, in his signature purple hoodie, entertains crowds at Arthur Ashe Kids' Day, a U.S. Open event, in New York in August 2009.

At 15, Bieber had yet to become synonymous with the ubiquitous single "Baby." At this point, he was soaking up all he could learn from his mentor, Usher, with whom he attended the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in March 2009.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

• Peggy Drexler: There are teenagers like Justin Bieber on every block


• Drexler: A young person who has so much money -- and power -- can do crazy things


• She says parents can instill values, but it's hard when a kid is the breadwinner


• Drexler: Still, there are teen stars who grow up fine even if they have a lot of money

Editor's note: Peggy Drexler is the author of "Our Fathers, Ourselves: Daughters, Fathers, and the Changing American Family" and "Raising Boys Without Men." She is an assistant professor of psychology at Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University and a former gender scholar at Stanford University. Join her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @drpeggydrexler.

(CNN) -- Cyndi Lauper had a hit in the 1980s called "Money Changes Everything." She has a point. It may or may not buy happiness, but money -- especially truckloads of it -- does change things, including endowing the holder of the checkbook with power.

Now, take a teenager and give him that power. What happens?

Justin Bieber, Lindsay Lohan and the other teen stars that have crashed to earth in a shower of tabloid sparks, may only be doing what a great many teenagers would be doing -- if they could.

There are teenagers like Justin Bieber on every block. But imagine the kid who cuts your lawn suddenly having a net worth of about $130 million.

The same teen brain that convinces its host that he won't get caught if he throws a party at the house while mom and dad are away now knows it owns the house -- and it's a mansion, with Lamborghinis outside loaned gratis by a friendly dealer. Woohoo!

Vanilla Ice: Biebs, come work with me

It's long been said that by age 5 or 6, a child's brain is 95% of its adult size. But neuroscientists, enlightened by MRI technology, are discovering it is still changing -- creating connections, adding and shedding cells. That process is particularly active in the prefrontal cortex -- the part that makes judgments like drag racing through residential neighborhoods.

Dr. Jay Giedd at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland, led studies that found the teen brain development was a process of adding and pruning. Significantly, he said, brain cells at that age are influenced by what the teen does. If he plays sports, the brain cells will make connections that help with that. If he sits on the couch and plays video games, then the cells will be hardwired for those activities.

The only real moderating influence -- as it is for any teenager -- is the parents. But instilling discipline and values can be a daunting exercise when the child is the breadwinner. It can be difficult to tell your child they can't have the car tonight -- when he's the one who paid for it.

Some parents -- like the Lohans -- are simply not up to the job. Others -- like the parents of Britney Spears or Amanda Bynes -- may have had their job complicated by what appear to be mental problems. Unfortunately, today, those problems are there for all to see. Every failure of a troubled celebrity teen spreads like digital wildfire.

Still, for every Justin Bieber, there is a Ron Howard, Natalie Portman or Jodie Foster -- child stars who navigated the rocky shoals of teen years into successful adulthood. Actor Rance Howard, in an interview, said he raised well-adjusted child star sons, Clint and Academy-award winning Ron, by removing their money from the family's life. "We chose not to live on what the boys could afford," he said, "but what I could afford."

Let's hope Justin will find his way. But romping in a mountain of money like most kids play in a pile of leaves, and surrounded by an entourage of dependent cheerleaders, won't make it easy. As the developing cells of his teenage brain react to the world around him -- money does change everything.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Peggy Drexler.