Like most people, I've been glued to the Olympics for days now. And while watching world records fall and medal counts rise, I'm thinking that parenting should qualify as an Olympic sport.

It's definitely an endurance challenge -- much more so than cross-country skiing in the most adverse winter conditions. As your kids get older, you encounter more obstacles than a competitor on a slalom course. If you have a partner then you have to work on coordinating your routine perfectly, and if you don't then you're skating every part of every routine by yourself.

Competition is fierce because everyone qualifies automatically, whether they intend to or not, and the field is crowded. The opening ceremonies involve ice packs in odd places, sleep deprivation, and new bodily functions. (The fireworks were spectacular, but they technically came before the games began.) There are coaches everywhere, but their advice is often contradictory. There is no training -- or, rather, you train as you perform and the athletes who think they are most prepared are often not actually in the competition (though some are more than willing to judge anyway).

If you do win some sort of award at any point for any event, it's hard to know for sure because signs change depending on what event you've won. (Newborn division? The sound of success is contented silence. Preschool event? The medals are fingerpainted, sometimes directly onto your clothing. Elementary-level competition? A hug in front of your child's friends is more precious than gold. Tweens and teens? You're doing it right if you hear "You're the meanest Mom/Dad EVER!"). Adult children? You've won if they call and apologise for anything they did or said during high school.

You're going for a record number of gold medals every single day, no matter what event you're in, how many times you've already competed, and not merely once every four years -- and you don't have a booster team, high-tech uniforms, special equipment, or a high-level endorsement deal to fall back on. And the stakes are high: In the parenting Olympics, if you're successful, your kid is the one who wins and you, the parent, become obsolete.

On second thought, maybe it shouldn't be an Olympic sport after all. It's harder than anything else out there -- but its much more rewarding.

Lylah M. Alphonse is a Globe staff member and mom and stepmom to five kids. She writes about juggling career and parenthood at The 36-Hour Day and blogs at Write. Edit. Repeat. E-mail her at lalphonse@globe.com.