Noting that parents have considerable influence on their children's learning during the process of general socialization, this paper reviews literature from primary and post primary schools about involving parents with their children's reading development. Following an introduction which summarizes the pertinent literature, the first section examines social learning theory and how it applies to reading, including information on home reading programs. The second section examines the psycholinguistic and naturalistic approach, focusing on the importance of every-day reading behavior and common sense meaning in children's literacy development. The third section discusses the implications of the psycholinguistic approach for home reading programs, including a section on pertinent British studies, while the fourth section examines parents as instructors. A conclusion suggests that while involving parents as instructors of reading appears to be a good strategy, very little is known about the relative cost effectiveness of different strategies. (Nine pages of references are included.) (JC)