A teenager trying on an opinion is not always announcing a permanent identity.

Thinking has to be practised out loud before it becomes anyone’s own. A young person stating something absolute at dinner is often testing how the sentence sounds in a room, watching what happens, seeing whether it holds. Treating each statement as a settled position turns a rehearsal into a confrontation, and usually makes the position harder to leave.

When something startling gets said, ask a real question about it rather than issuing a correction. Where did that idea come from, what do you find convincing about it. Most opinions loosen faster under interest than under opposition.