Does your teen have a mirror in their room?

[HowToTeach]

Thinking of re-doing the wardrobes for DS(14) and DD(12) and wondering if we should put a mirror door on. At the moment we have two mirrored cabinets above the sinks in the bathroom & toilet and a full length in the hall between the bedrooms.
Do yours? Would you? If they have one, would you rather they didn't have one? Does it increase or reduce problems with body image etc.

Mine all did Never crossed my mind not to .

I think exploring your appearance is a really necessary and important part of your transition to becoming an adult, getting to know your own self. Trying out looks and poses as you experiment with your image is big, and being able to do it in privacy is more dignified.
Full mirror on the bedroom all the way imo.
If someone is going to have body issues the mirror will not be the root cause.

I'm redecorating my 4 year old's room and was thinking about putting a mirror in (she loves dancing around and posing in front of my mirror 😂)
It never even crossed my mind that this would be the wrong thing to do!

Surely everyone needs access to a full length mirror.
I never had one. Maybe that's why I don't understand fashion and usually look scruffy 😂

I think exploring your appearance is a really necessary and important part of your transition to becoming an adult, getting to know your own self. Trying out looks and poses as you experiment with your image is big, and being able to do it in privacy is more dignified.

Interesting point.

Mine do have full length mirrors in their rooms but when I go into town I’m pretty sure a lot if people don’t even have one in their house otherwise they’d know I can identify parts of their anatomy I have no wish to see.

I love mirrors. I have loads of them, mainly because I like them to bounce the light around. Dd has 2. One full length and one Hollywood mirror, with lights. I don't I've ever seen ds look in a mirror. I'm not sure he even knows what he looks like.

My 6 And 11 years old do. Wardrobe with full mirror on 1 door.

mainly because I like them to bounce the light around.
you don't worry if they catch too much sunlight that they'll start a fire?

The fitted wardrobes were installed in DS's room when ge was 7. One door is a mirror door. He's 27 now and back at home (after 5 years away). I don't think the mirror has caused any body image issues at all.

Never even crossed my mind!

DS doesn't, he's never asked for one. He does have a small one in the bathroom that he uses though and there's a full length one on our wardrobe which he uses as he does his hair in the same room.

Really good point

My 2 had full length mirrors on their walls but switched to mirrored wardrobe doors when we did their rooms for more wall space. It does make the rooms feel more spacious, having more light reflected. No body issues created.

I say no to having scales in the house but not mirrors

No

Teen dds have small mirrors in their bedrooms for doing hair/make up. None of us have a full length mirror. You can possibly check full length if you squint in the larger bathroom mirror though.

Though full length mirrors and body image wouldn't be a concern for us. Would be a bit pointless really as they're dancers and have danced since pre school age. They're used to full length mirrors.

I would agree with that. Ironically we only bought our last scales to weigh dd for a dance audition when she was nearly 11. The batteries are dead in the scales at the moment and it hasn't worked for a couple of years.

Dts have the only full length mirror here, the one in my room isn't long enough. They spend a lot of time on 'the fit'.

They also have led mirrors on their vanity unit.

It would never occur to me for them not to have a mirror.

We have scales in the house. My teenagers have never ever used them, probably wouldn't even know where they are.

We have lots of mirrors (wardrobe doors, bathrooms etc.) and as yet they haven’t started any fires!

Both teens have their own mirrors. I don’t think they lead to body image problems. Those generally come from trauma of some sort: family break up, bullying etc. and a need for some control (this is my experience anyway).

How would you get ready and check your outfit from all angles without decent mirrors?

Ds(16) and Dd(14) both have an en suite with a mirror above the sink. Generally used for the usual stuff - teeth brushing etc. Ds will look in his to shave and comb his hair.

DD has a dressing table with those bulb lights round the mirror, which is for make up and hair. She also has mirrored wardrobes, as she's into fashion and clothes.
Safe to say, she's rarely away from a mirror - but I don't think she has body issues. She likes to look good/feel good, but that's different.

DS doesn't have a bedroom mirror - but he just shoves on joggers and a hoodie and is good to go.

Both dds (19 and 18) have floor length mirrored wardrobe doors. One covers them up sometimes.
Ds is 12 and doesn’t have any mirrors, he doesn’t care what he looks like at all. We have floor length mirrored wardrobes too which he could use if he wanted to. He doesn’t.

Probably should have added, when we moved to this house 4 years ago, it was the mirrored wardrobes that clinched it when it came to allocating bedrooms. Dd loved them, and has plenty of hanging space for her clothes.
Ds's room is a good bit bigger - but he wasn't interested in the mirrored wardrobes, so it ended up being a straightforward choice.

My DCs always had mirrors in their rooms. DD has moved out now but she did have a vanity style mirror on her drawers and a full length one on the back of her bedroom door. DS just has a full length one on the inside of a wardrobe door. There is also a large mirror on the bathroom and a full length mirror in the hallway.
No body issues here (although I wish my bathroom mirror didn’t show my grey hairs quite so well 🤷‍♀️).

As teenage boys me and my brother never had a full length mirror in our rooms, and never needed one. At 40 I still only ever look in one if I'm in a suit for a wedding / funeral / interview. It would never occur to me to use one day to day. I know what I look like in jeans / t-shirt already, why would I need to check.

16 yo DD asked for one shortly after she turned 13. She likes her fashion, and likes to check whether various bits of clothes work with each other.

She doesn't care hugely about her appearance itself, she's a bit of a contradiction. Loves her nail polish but uses no make up. Spends ages on her outfit but can't be arsed to drag a brush through her hair. The mirror is for the clothes, she was lost when I took it down for a week to decorate.

She's largely OK with body image I think. She does have some hangups about her legs. That's not come from her mirror though. She's picked it up from DP, who has a similar build to DD, and hates her own "chunky" calves.