Zendaya had to learn to "protect" herself as a child star

The 27-year-old actress shot to fame in her early teens when she was cast alongside Bella Thorne in the

sitcom 'Shake It Up' before going onto a glamorous Hollywood career in later years but admitted that she sometimes wishes she could have stayed as a normal kid for a "bit longer" as she recalled feeling very "vulnerable" at a young age.

Speaking on YouTube series

, she said: "It's a lesson you have to learn young. I was a kid thrown into a very adult industry where if you do have a perspective or something to say, it's like 'Well they're a kid And the parents...it's like...they are just the parents so you have to learn how to protect yourself quite quickly.

"For me, it was a lesson learned quite early - back in my Disney days - of little tricks and little things I could do to

, or protect my peace or protect my happiness.

"I think when you're a kid in this industry, you're very vulnerable. I do wish I could have just been a kid for a little bit longer but yeah, the lessons happened very early.

"I don't know if there was a specific moment but it definitely happened quite young, having to learn to have my own back a little bit."

However, the 'Dune: Part Two' star recalled having an on-set teacher during her time on Disney Chanel who she felt prioritized the child's well-being above all else and claimed it may come as a "surprise" to learn that someone likes that is fairly uncommon in the industry.

She said: "I had a wonderful on-set teacher who was very adamant about safety, breaks, time and so...she's like an aunt to me now.

!

"She became my family, but she was someone who just advocated for the kid, she'd say 'They need to take a break', or 'That's too dangerous, I don't want them doing that', or 'They have school!'.

"You'd be surprised how that is not common practice in this industry."