For starters, eff your parents. I don't mean that in a mean way, but I take it you're at least legal to play internet poker (18), so you're a man and men make their own decisions. You CANNOT live under the safety blanket of your parents your whole life. You got to live for yourself, and if you enjoy poker, then play.
First thing first for newbies is BANKROLL MANAGEMENT. You have what, $400? Playing NL, you shouldn't be playing over the $25NL tables. They are pretty weak so you should be able to beat them pretty easily if you are any decent. Don't get all hyper to move up limits quickly. This is how bankrolls disappear quickly.
Second, you got another $100 you can spare? You might as well have $500 to deposit into Party to get the full signup bonus. You can take the money out then if you don't feel comfortable with it all in there after you deposit.
Third, being a small stakes player as yourself, you'll get very little from rakeback on Party. My suggestion would be to go over to
www.pokersourceonline.com and use them to do Party and get a comp. They have some really cool stuff you can get for free and also have PokerTracker for free if you want that.
Since you are a newbie, I wouldn't say PokerTracker is needed ASAP, but if you want to ever get serious, it is almost a must-need tool.
Picking up some poker books isn't a bad route either if you got some extra cash or get some from grandma for Chirstmas [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
Sorry I can't give deeper insight right now as I'm playing, but as away and I'm sure people will help you with your questions.