Raising a gifted child, one who is pursuing a talent to championship or professional levels, is not cheap.

Classes. Coaches. Competition entry fees. Transportation. Equipment. It adds up quickly, and supporting such a child’s passion typically comes at a cost – a parent taking on extra work, switching to a more lucrative career or forgoing vacations and funding of the 529.

If spare funds are not in the picture, consider tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams. Their father got his girls into a game associated with the country club set by coaching them himself at the public courts in Compton, CA.

It already costs a lot to raise a child. If you are part of a two-parent family earning more than $70,200 a year, the United States Department of Agriculture estimates it’ll cost precisely $269,520 to raise one child through age 17 -- no word on whether that includes a Wii (NTDOY), several dozen Barbies (MAT), the inevitable iPod (AAPL), and a BlackBerry (RIMM) or 2.

And then comes college.

Are the additional thousands of dollars and hours required to develop a gifted child's interests worth it?

If joy is the return that parents gain on their investments, it stands to reason that seeing your child excel and bloom by developing a particular expertise is worth the additional financial strain.

Three parents I spoke with shared the pride, joy and expenditures of seeing their children achieve their dreams. Here are their stories.