@RobCGutshall ...
I wonder if you are in the proper "People" screen? There is a "People" screen for Canvas admins, and there is a "People" screen in each Canvas course. Once you have the parent's account (and e-mail address) added to the "People" page at the Canvas admin level:
How do I create and add users to an account? - Instructure Community - 90 (canvaslms.com)
...you can then go into the course in question and add the parent to that course with the Observer role. (When adding the parent to the course, just put in the same e-mail address that you used when you created the account, and it should find the parent for you.)
How do I add users to a course? - Instructure Community - 1119 (canvaslms.com)
Finally, remaining in the course, use this Guide to link the parent to a student:
How do I link a student to an observer in a course... - Instructure Community - 1254 (canvaslms.com)
Hopefully this information will be helpful to you. Sing out if you have any other questions about this...thanks!