The Spark Blog

Category: tips

  • Exam Stress Tips for Students

    Exam Stress Tips for Students

    It is not long until schools, colleges and universities across Scotland will put up their ‘Quiet! Exam in Progress’ signs. And with it comes the inevitable exam stress and worry. To help you cope with pre-exam nerves, The Spark has prepared some top tips. We work in Scottish schools providing courses on how to cope…

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  • Top 5 Kids’ Easter Holiday Activities

    Top 5 Kids’ Easter Holiday Activities

    How to keep the kids busy during the Easter school holiday The Easter school holiday is nearly upon us. Parents can look forward to asking the same big question a dozen times: what do I do with the kids today? To help ease the pressure on stressed-out parents, here are our top 5 things to…

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  • Relationships and Social Media

    Relationships and Social Media

    Social media is becoming ever more intertwined in our lives and relationships. In an earlier blog we looked at the concept of the ‘digital shadow’ and the risk to relationships between parents and children. The conclusion being that parents who share every aspect of a child’s life on social media risk damage to their future…

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  • How to Have a Better Conversation

    How to Have a Better Conversation

    Poor communication can be a starting point for relationship problems. Whether between married couples, parents and children, amongst friends or work colleagues, bad communication helps no one. Even amidst the rise of social media our primary means of communication remains the same now as it was before the telephone (let alone the mobile phone) was…

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  • Can We Cram Our Relationships?

    Can We Cram Our Relationships?

    Humans love to cram. We cram for exams, cram for interviews and cram before that big presentation at work. A whole 24-episode TV boxset gets crammed into a weekend and we cram our plates at the all-you-can-eat buffet. Our modern lives are often described as ‘time poor’ leaving us more inclined, or feeling we have…

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  • Valentine’s Day is Still Important

    Valentine’s Day is Still Important

    The cards are in the shops. The adverts for champagne and chocolates are on the TV. Pink love hearts are popping up everywhere. We cannot fail to notice it is Valentine’s Day very soon. The annual celebration of love puts a high value on grand ideas and romance. Couples that have been together for a…

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  • It’s Valentine’s but we Just Started Dating!

    It’s Valentine’s but we Just Started Dating!

    Valentine’s Day is meant to be about love and relationships. For couples just starting out in a relationship it can end up feeling like an obstacle course full of opportunities for misunderstandings, overblown efforts and underwhelming gifts. To help couples navigate that first Valentine’s Day we have 3 simple tips to help you both enjoy…

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  • The Value of Counselling in Mediation

    The Value of Counselling in Mediation

    A recent TV series on mediation for separating couples reminded me how distressing the breakup of a relationship can be. The person you planned to spend your whole life with has become someone you do not know. Sometimes you are left wondering if you ever knew them. Who am I now? A breakup is a…

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  • January blues: 10 Ways to Beat them

    January blues: 10 Ways to Beat them

    The January blues or winter blues are something we are all familiar with. Gone is the colour and excitement of Christmas leaving behind credit card bills, cold weather and long, dark nights. Here at The Spark we are saying ‘no’ to the January blues. We want to help you make the most of January! We…

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