"Responsible teen’ not an oxymoron

By at least one measure, today’s teenagers are more responsible than their parents were.

In a survey of 768 adults and 365 teenagers, 62% of respondents ages 14 to 19 reported saving money to pay for all or part of college or higher-education programs.

By contrast, only 40% of adults 20 to 59 said that they saved for higher education during their teen years.

Opinion Research Corp. conducted the phone survey in August for TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.

Surveyed parents reported that they were more likely to have relied on their parents for college expenses, but were responsible for paying their own bills and car expenses when they were teens.

By contrast, teenagers said they are more likely to rely on their parents for help with living expenses and transportation costs, and are eager to put money away for college.

Part of the drive to save could be the example set by the parents, said Diane Young, director of retirement and goal planning at TD Ameritrade.

“A lot of today’s parents are carrying school loans,” she said.

Another factor is the Internet, which may help teens better understand what things cost and what their college expenses are expected to be, Ms. Young said.

The economy has also played a part in fueling an appreciation of higher education.

“The teens see that jobs are not as secure as they were for their parents’ generation,” Ms. Young said. “Today, kids are growing up in households where their mother or father may have been laid off once or twice.”

Indeed, 84% of the teenagers reported that they think that education is essential to success, compared with 56% of adults who said that they felt the same way about education when they were teens.

Related Topics: E*Trade Financial Corp., IN Research, ING Group, TD Ameritrade Institutional