Teen connection

by the numbers

Talk time: A 2005 Pew Research Center survey found 45 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds say they talk daily to their parents by telephone.

Just over half of parents with cellphone-carrying teens use text messaging, according to a Cingular Wireless survey of 1,175 parents last August. Of those, two-thirds said it improves communication with their children. Nearly half of parents who send text messages learned how from their kids.

Another recent survey by Harrison Group found teens by far favored talking to their mothers. On a scale of 1 to 10, teens gave their relationship with Mom a solid 7.9 (dads scored 5.2).

Fun time: Nearly six of 10 parents surveyed said they play video games, about half the time with their kids, according a September survey by Activision.

"Every year we see more homes complete with full entertainment centers — including theater seating, giant HDTVs, VOD [video on demand] and cabinets full of DVDs," noted Anna D'Agrosa, who spots trends for The Zandl Group. Many teens prefer to hang out at home with friends instead of paying to go to theaters, she said.

Great job: Eight of 10 teens say their parents are doing a "great job" raising them, according to a 2004 Synovate TeenNation survey of 500 teens. Nine of 10 said they look up to and admire their parents.

In 2006, more than half of teens cite parents as their role models, up from one third in 1996, notes The Zandl Group.

Trust me: Nearly three-quarters of 13- to 17-year-old respondents in a 2005 Gallup Youth Survey said their parents give them the trust they deserve.

Hanging out: More than three-quarters of teens (ages 14-17) reported that they enjoy spending time with a parent, according to a 2004 Child Trends analysis of data from a national longitudinal survey. In the same survey, nearly six in 10 said they wanted to be like their mom or dad.

Stephanie Dunnewind,

Seattle Times staff reporter