In recent months, Lindsay Lohan has come under fire for taking her 15-year-old sister, Ali, out for late nights at restaurants and clubs. But Lindsay assures Life & Style her baby sis isn’t likely to suffer the same problems she did growing up in the public eye.

“She’s tougher than I am,” Lindsay said at the VS Beauty Velvet Fragrance Collection launch in NYC on Oct. 14. “She has a good head on her shoulders. Maybe it was different for me because I didn’t know what to expect and it just happened really fast. I didn’t have a big sister.” The Mean Girls star also insists there’s no way that Ali, who’s being homeschooled, is falling behind in her schoolwork. “She’s really good about that,” Lindsay says. “If I’m going out late, she’ll go home early.”

And while Lindsay says she’s looking out for Ali, she sometimes forgets her sister’s age. “When I was with her at home, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s right, she’s still a lot younger than me,’” Lindsay says. “But I think it’s great that she’s mature.”

Life & Style