For many parents, homework produces a battlefield of reluctance and discontent. Free from the constraints and rules of the classroom, children don't want to be pressured into completing yet more work, but deadlines have been set and teachers are expecting homework books to be handed in on time...

Of course we want our children to succeed at school - what rational parent wouldn't want their son or daughter to achieve the grades that will later land them their dream job? Yet when the task of ensuring homework is completed satisfactorily - and on time - becomes an unpleasant chore when compared with the lure of the latest videogame or playing out with friends, how can we convince our little loved ones to try their best and settle down to tackle the task?

Through Calmer, Easier, Happier Homework, Noel Janis-Norton sets out a programme for parents to help daily homework become a stress-free and enjoyable experience, one which can have lasting effects on our children's ability to learn and on our own skills as educators in the home.

As a keen supporter of my own children's education, I decided to review this book for Glamumous readers so you can get a better idea of how this programme operates, and why you may find it useful in developing your own homework tactics.

French Children Don't Throw Food is an account of the parenting experiences of an Anglophone raising a family in Paris: Druckerman herself is an American former journalist married to an Englishman; their children a daughter and twin boys.

Initially, Druckerman assumes her life as a parent will reflect much of what she refers to as "Anglophone", though she soon discovers that her Parisian peers are not so keen to form friendships among other mothers, let alone choose to be stay-at-home parents who frequent local playgroups and gossip while "over-parenting" their children!

Instead, she discovers that French mothers are equally more strict and relaxed, well groomed women in their own right whose children seem incredibly well behaved and almost never throw food at the tables of the haughty restaurants they frequent.

Her journalist background combined with the experience of motherhood aroused her curiosity as to what creates the "invisible, civilising force" enabling French mothers to seem as though they can have it all. French Children Don't Throw Food is an account of her discoveries and experiences in finding out.