Compliance with regimens for chronic childhood diseases is often less than optimal. Parental involvement in treatment programs is necessary to insure adequate compliance. However, specific advice to parents about how to help their children comply with treatments is rarely given. This review offers suggestions to practitioners about advising parents how to help their children follow prescribed treatments. These suggestions include helping parents to understand rationales for recommended treatments, providing cues or reminders and behavioral strategies to modify compliance (or noncompliance) behaviors.