The Spark Blog
Category: parenting
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Pupils Come First with Counselling
The Spark is at the forefront of efforts to improve the mental and emotional wellbeing of school pupils in Scotland. It is widely recognised that a child’s ability and readiness to learn can be compromised by difficult life experiences. Through counselling and education programmes we are helping schools manage the emotional and mental wellbeing of…
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![Parents’ Guide to Exam Results Day]()
Parents’ Guide to Exam Results Day
Being a parent of a teenager is tricky at the best of times. High school exams are barely over when attention turns to the next stress-triggering milestone: exam results day. Parents can end up just as distressed as the kids who sat the exams. The near constant squeeze on prospects for an increasingly disadvantaged millennial…
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![Male Postnatal Depression is Real]()
Male Postnatal Depression is Real
Male postnatal depression has long been considered in the same terms as man flu. Reactions can vary from a raised eyebrow to thinly veiled contempt when the subject is broached. Familiar gender stereotypes entrench the belief that a dad ‘can’t get’ postnatal depression because of their limited role in pregnancy, childbirth and the early months…
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![Infant Mental Health Before Birth]()
Infant Mental Health Before Birth
There is no denying that the mental health of children and young people is in decline. Last week further data was released confirming more children and young people are requiring support for mental health issues. Worse still NHS therapeutic services are struggling to meet government targets of 18 weeks from referral to accessing support. In…
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![Bending the Truth in Relationships]()
Bending the Truth in Relationships
In a society increasingly dominated by ‘alternative facts’ it is beginning to feel like bending the truth is replacing good, old-fashioned honesty. More alarming is the implied acceptance that bending the truth or even lying outright no longer carries with it consequences. “People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war or…
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![Can I ‘have it all’ and Mental Health?]()
Can I ‘have it all’ and Mental Health?
As part of Mental Health Awareness week we are considering this year’s theme: surviving or thriving? 21st century society leads us to believe that we can ‘have it all’. Where all is defined loosely as everything an individual might desire at some point in their life. The reality – and whether we end up surviving…
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![Holidays Highlight Relationship Issues]()
Holidays Highlight Relationship Issues
Holidays are important. Especially since we only get a few each year. They can be fabulous times packed with great memories we will cherish forever. Whether we get to enjoy some family fun over Easter or the summer school break, holidays are one of the biggest (if not the biggest) motivation for working 9 to…
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![Sexting: 5 Ways to Protect Your Child]()
Sexting: 5 Ways to Protect Your Child
Raising children in the digital age brings with it a host of challenges previous generations never faced. One such high profile and extremely distressing issue is sexting. Sexting is an issue that is fast becoming a common problem. As the lives of young people become ever more embedded in social media, its significance and the…
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![Tips for Parents During Exams]()
Tips for Parents During Exams
Exam time can be as stressful for parents as it is for students. The normal teenage angst that leads to tension in the household cranks up a few notches during exam preparation. Indeed, many parents will recall attempts to ‘help’ their stressed-out teen that are interpreted as an act of war worthy of Michael Howard.…
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