All children are smart in their own way. The role of the parents is to know not how smart their kids are but how are they smart. Howard Gardner, a psychologist who theorized multiple intelligence, supports this by giving you a track that will best mold your kids to the best ability that they possess.
Many parents have dreams for their kids and some tend to force their children to do what they think is the best for them. If the parent for example has frustrations in learning music in the past, the parent plans the life of the child by engaging him or her to music by force, without realizing that the child wants to do something else like sports, math, pets, or dressmaking. Hence, where do parents start in developing their kids' talents and when is there a need to stop encouraging them to lovw what they do not enjoy?
There are studies that explore the abilities of the brain when it comes to learning and usage of intelligence as applied in different disciplines or areas. It is important for parents to understand this to know where to start. Kids can be gifted with lingquitics, logic/math, music, visuals (arts), body/kindesthetic, interpersonal, or intrapersonal skills. If a parent tracks the strength of the child, then it will be best to send him or her to a center or school where such gift will be fully enhanced.
Kids will be able to excel in areas where they are really enjoying themselves and even love pushing themselves to be better and better, without being pressured to do so. The motivation comes from within although external support from parents, peers, and relatives would be a great help as well.
If you have not yet determined how is your child smart, then you can try bringing him or her into some online tests. It is a great investment for your child and it surely will last for a life time.