Is it better to be a teen today than in decades past? More than half of teens say that yes, they’re happier to be reaching adulthood in the early 21st century rather than the 1980s or ’90s; but parents think their kids are getting a raw deal: Only 18 percent of moms and dads thought 2013 was a great time to be a teen.

It’s not the only topic on which teens and parents disagreed, according to the most recent All State/National Journal Heartland Monitor Poll. When teens were asked to guess what their parents’ primary worry was, they guessed it was how their kids were performing in school; but parents polled said that school performance was only their fifth-most pressing worry.

Furthermore, 81 percent of teens said they were the most responsible party for whether they succeeded or failed in school, but more than two-thirds of parents—68 percent—said that they, the parents, were the most important factor as to whether a child would succeed. Parents and teens see college as important, and they agree scholarships and grants will help pay the looming educational bill; but although they agree on that point, chances are parents and students are wrong. Only 40 percent of students receive grants and a far smaller percentage earn scholarships. (National Journal)

Paul Asay has covered religion for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He lives in Colorado Springs with wife Wendy and his two children. Follow him on Twitter.