Elizabeth Hurley gives Elton John and David Furnish parenting tips.

The 49-year-old actress - who has 12-year-old son Damian with her ex-boyfriend Stephen Bing - encouraged the couple to hire ''a new nanny of the highest calibre'' to help them care for their two sons, Zachary, three, and 17-month-old Elijah, when they're busy.

David, 51, told the MailOnline: ''Elton and I have to travel a great deal, so we've hired a new nanny of the highest calibre to look after the boys. Liz says children thrive on routine and emphasised this to us by saying as long as they stick to a programme, they are fine.''

He added: ''Liz said that when Damian was small, she'd have to go to New York for 48 hours for shoots and she'd leave him at home with a nanny because it was kinder than upsetting his sleep patterns.''

'Rocket Man' hitmaker Elton, 67, is Damian's godfather.

Meanwhile, the couple have already enrolled their eldest son at a smart feeder school for Eton College, as they hope to send him to the prestigious £34,000-a-year English boarding school in the future.

David explained: ''It is close to our Windsor home and all the Old Etonians I've met are the sort of men who can go anywhere and converse with anyone.

''They are not at all snobbish, and they are wonderfully talented - which is definitely what we want for Zachary and Elijah.''