This article presents the results of two ethnographic studies that explored the language and literacy practices present in the everyday lives of seven Dominican families living in the New York City metropolitan area. The families engaged in literacy practices that were embedded in their daily lives and often depended on the practical problems that the families had to solve. It suggests ways to connect family literacy programs to the parents' literacy experiences. It also recommends the use of all technologies available today, such as television, computer and the Internet, not only to develop literacy in parents and children but also to teach how to use and criticize the new technologies.