Firstly, it’s the child that should be doing the choosing of subjects. It’s their choice, and not the parents’. All you can effectively do is to make sure that your child in on the right path. You may want a doctor in the family but your child may never be suited to, or even inclined towards a career in medical science. So, it is imperative that the subject decision is mutual and agreeable with the student, for they must pursue it eventually. One way to gauge your child’s acumen at a subject is to see how much they score at it in regular academics, and how much time they spend on an average in conceptual understanding of that subject. It is possible that you child may like computer science but takes a lot of time in understanding the basics, which may be problematic later in their academic life. So, the sure shot way of zeroing on a subject is to see the optimum combination of Time + Effort. Rise in the quantum of either beyond reasonable levels will spell trouble.

To be fair, all streams are achievable. Gone are the days when only Science was the way to go. Liberal arts are coming up in a big way and more students each year are applying for courses abroad. So, no subject or course is beyond the reach of your child. The only way to guide your child without planting thorns in your relationship is to never force a decision on them, no matter how strong your beliefs are about it.