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College intro Psychology for a 12 yr old?


Dmmetler
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The fall course schedule for the college is out, and DD wants to take psych. It seems like a decent choice-it's on the transfer list in-state for both her majors, is a prerequisite for educational psychology and child and adolescent psych, which are required for her ed major, and she can likely do it with some of the friends she's made this semester (they have been comparing notes on schedules).

 

I'm just wondering if there is anything I'm forgetting from my long-ago college psych class that would be inappropriate for a 12 year to be there for?

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She should be aware of psychpathology. My dc were familiar as their school is fully included and they have a relative with npd, ocd, and have met many with general anxiety plus they did service for one of the mental health group homes in the neighborhood. For them, the class put things in perspective. Sometimes teens think books are fiction,and are surprised to learn that some of the characters' mental illnesses are based in reality...usually they have dicussed Flowers for Algernon and Of Mice and Men before Intro to Psych but some have not and the class is then an eye opener.

Edited by Heigh Ho
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Well it's going back a ways, but the ickiest thing I recall from Psych I was Freud's psychosexual stages.  The Electra Complex for example.  Yuck.  My kid sister was a preschooler when I took psych, and she'd be sitting on my dad's lap and I'd be thinking, "Freud is such a perv, how is he still in the textbooks?"  :P

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My intro psych classes did include some discussion of human sexuality, but not a lot. I don't recall anything I'd be uncomfortable with a 12yo hearing, as long as the 12yo in question was reasonably comfortable with the topic themselves.

 

As mentioned, psychopathology is discussed. Some examples of behaviors could be disturbing, depending on level of sensitivity.

 

Intro psych courses tend to be very broad, so there's not a lot of depth on any topic, which makes for a fairly "safe" class, IIRC.

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DS did it at 12 and loved it. There were definitely mature topics, but we never tried to shelter our kids from topics they felt ready to discuss.

 

Ultimately, you'll have to take your best guess as to whether she is ready or not. I'm inclined to think that with her background, and the fact that she is ready for a college setting, she's probably more ready for the topics than you will be comfortable with.

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That kind of matches with my perceptions as well. It also kind of seems like a good year for it, since the 4x4 box checking of high school where specific classes are expected hasn't started yet. The one psych class I'd prefer to shield her from is Abnormal psych, because I remember that being quite graphic (having said that, my abnormal psych professor had been a psychiatrist at a big state mental hospital from the 1950's -1980's and had retired to college teaching after the deinstitutionalization movement had led to major cutbacks. It was a very memorable experience, but not a terribly child-friendly one!). However, that was a 4000/6000 level class, so the CC isn't likely to be offering it.

 

I think she would adore physiological psychology :).

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I think it depends on the instructor and class. My community college psych class was one that p*rn was discussed extensively which was shocking to me. It was an evening class of almost all 20-30 something's and while I loved the class, I will not put my child in that.

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Well it's going back a ways, but the ickiest thing I recall from Psych I was Freud's psychosexual stages.  The Electra Complex for example.  Yuck.  My kid sister was a preschooler when I took psych, and she'd be sitting on my dad's lap and I'd be thinking, "Freud is such a perv, how is he still in the textbooks?"  :p

 

And, you know, I think that is equally yucky no matter what your age.  

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