I used to be like that, and used to spread my feet quite far apart, almost the width of the rack. And still couldnt go parallel, with weight that is. Body weight squats were fine. When i recently got back into training, i started using a chair. Now i go parallel with feet shoulder width, maybe a bit wider, and toes slightly pointed out. Its just something about knowing that chair is there that helps me i guess. But i dont sit on it or bounce off of it, i just go down, feel it hit my ass, and go back up. I put the front edge of the chair a few inches back from my knees.