Two more guides for parents this week, one revealing the secret of happy children, the other of happy parents.

From the Triskel Arts Centre in Cork, You Can Play Too! is written by the centre's former education officer, Helen Barry. This little freebie (available in public libraries nationwide) encourages mum and dad to "take a break for some spontaneous play" with pre-school kids.

It is a product of the Triskel's arts programme for parents and pre-school children, which provides an environment where families "rehearse new ways of relating and responding to each other".

It's borderline "you can teach your children to play" stuff; unfortunately, the book - essentially a very well illustrated bunch of arts-and-crafts suggestions - is full of ideas which would entail mum and/or dad doing most of the work. It might be better to try out something like making an elaborate pretend fish tank with the school-going kids, and avoid disappointed parents or frustrated pre-schoolers.

Steven Biddulph, an Australian family therapist, comes in with the fourth reprint of his bestselling The Secret of Happy Children (Thorsons £8.99). This is one of those jolly parenting-can-be-a-barrel-of-laughs books, packed with amusing little cartoons and no-nonsense advice - basically a useful flick for parents new to the parenting-book market. There is some rubbish, such as a bit about how a quick cup of tea together will save your marriage - which, interestingly, comes at the end of a chapter entitled "Dad? Who's Dad?" (Ah yes, that man who has cups of tea for 10 minutes with mum each day.)