I'm wondering what some of you have done with regard to inflexiblity on the part of your kids.

DS7 has always had very strong opionions. When he was 4yo and in a church kindy, he came back announcing that there was no God. Why? Because there was no answer when he prayed. "It's just the teachers' imagination", he said. DH has leanings towards Buddhist philosophies. "No tks, Papa. It's ok for you but not for me." (Apologies - I don't mean to start a debate on religion or be offensive).

We've had a long running debate on mistakes and how positive they are because they help us learn. He's adamantly against it. "Sorry Mummy, you're just saying words. Words can mean nothing." Ok, he's work in progress.

While I admire his confidence, I also see that this attitude is very limiting - the decisions are made with little or no life experience. He's made up his mind about a lot of things and it's near impossible to change it. He's unwilling to try new things or experiences because he's decided they're too easy/boring/hard. Like he won't play chess even though he's very good with strategy games (Blokus; Risk)- he thinks he'll lose. He won't learn any musical instruments - too hard; books have to be about a certain genre or he won't even read something different from the same author (well, very reluctantly) - too boring.

What have you guys done about your kids with this sort of tendency? The gifted board suggested that I sign him up for a variety of different classes so that he can see that treading in unknown waters isn't always difficult or bad. But I'm concerned about enforcement (he'll fight against attending). I'm hoping to gradually encourage him into being more open about trying. So far, I've given in when he says no, but at some point, I'm hoping he can be more adventurous on his own. Will kids grow out of this?