Parents are everywhere at the inaugural games, more so than other international events because the athletes ages 14 through 18 are at an age where they depend on family support.

While they aren't organizing car pools, booking hotels or cooking meals as they do back home, parents still play an integral role — part cheerleader, part confidante, part gopher.

"My role is to encourage them. They already have a lot of pressure from coach," said Susan Paler Alkhaldi of the Philippines, who was watching her daughter Jasmine compete in the swimming. "From my side, it's always praises here.

I'm always saying you can do it. Just fight and do the best you can." Most of the time the role of parents as developers of sporting talent is overlooked, with coaches and sports federations getting much of the credit. And when they do get attention, it is often for all the wrong reasons.

They can be portrayed as controlling and manipulative or even as bullies — with several high-profile examples in the world of tennis alone.

Aiming to enhance their positive role, US company Procter and amp; Gamble launched the "Thank You Mom" campaign at the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver. It's continued the program at these Youth Olympics, paying the travel and lodging for 25 mothers from around the world including those from the United States, Australia, the Philippines and Turkey.

"P and amp;G recognizes the sacrifice that families, and often moms, make to help children achieve their Olympic dreams," P and amp;G Global Marketing and Brand Building Officer Marc Pritchard said in a statement. "We also celebrate the families of the athletes because we know they didn't make it here alone." Most of the mothers in the program saw the potential of their sons or daughters at an early age and all have made significant sacrifices along the way. One single mother from the United States took out a line of credit on her house to help offset the travel costs, while others have sent their children far away from home to training facilities.

"We don't have a very nice house. My new car has 180,000 miles on it. I don't have fancy clothes. We don't go out to eat," said Karen Kimball of Troy, New York, whose son Will Spear is in the fencing competition. "Everything is for fencing. Will is here so I don't consider it a sacrifice." The athletes are housed in the Youth Olympic villages, but the parents still play a critical role. Alkhaldi and Maria Corazon Deguzman Lacuna, whose son Jessie Khing is the other Filipino swimmer competing, form a two-person cheering squad on most days at the pool, chanting "Go Jessie" or "Go Jaz" as their children line up on the starting blocks.

They also pray with their children and off them a hug when they lose — which on Thursday was the case since both children failed to qualify in their respective events.

"I'm just happy to see my son do his best," Lacuna said, as she waited for him to leave the pool. "We call his name to let him know we are here for him, that he did a good job." Alkhadi said they aren't as rowdy as they are back home, but do their best to remind their children they are watching.

"Maybe we don't shout as loud as we do back home because we are only two," she said. "It just feels good to see your daughter competing against these great swimmers. And we understand they aren't so bad. The difference in times is just a few seconds." Kimball, whose older son is also a fencer, has been more of a calming presence for her son. He often comes back to her hotel during breaks in competition to sit on the balcony and eat his favorite Choco Pies. After losses, he comes over and sits silently beside Kimball for hours at a time.

"I'm there to be an oasis from the Olympics, from the fencing, from the hoopla," said Kimball, who also sends a standard text to her son ahead of a match telling him to breathe, plan his strategy, move and smile.

"He would just sit outside in warm air and relax," she said of his returns to the hotel. "He has never done that before. We've never had that quite. That helped him. He had those days to just come and not be anything but a little kid."