No, I would not have let him quit baseball after the first game. I would have told him that he wanted to sign up, and he needed to finish the season out. But at the end of the season, if he wanted to quit I absolutely would have let him. Nor would I have encouraged my child to quit after throwing their first bowling ball... but if they didn't want to bowl again after that outing, I probably would not have pushed it. Although I might have pointed out that bowling is a frequent birthday party activity, so he might want to go a few more times with the family to develop some basic level of skill.

D15 begged for dance lessons at about 5, and we signed her up. 2 lessons into it, she knew she hated it (and no surprise to us, it didn't really seem like it would be her thing). At the end of the paid set of lessons, we let her drop it. No harm that I can see, she has a pretty good amount of stick-to-it-iveness now as a 15 year old.

I just feel like it is hard to have perspective when your kids are still so young. Sure they are gifted, but I think that is all the more reason to treat them with respect and allow them some autonomy in choosing their extracurricular activities. It is especially true with my gifted child that if I want her to treat me with respect, I have to do the same. My message to my kids has been pick it and stick for at least a season/year. But let them explore their options, within reason.

Last edited by intparent; 12/28/10 05:55 PM.