Life Talk Forum

We are the go-to place for tips, tools and advice for parents and young people. Our team is dedicated to a solution-driven approach to life – encouraging proactive thinking through our newsletters, series of books as well as key talks and videos – all with the aim of promoting the notion of leading a more fulfilled and enriched life.

Our mission is to empower all young people to make life-enriching choices; equipping parents for proactive parenting and inspiring families to thrive.

To learn more about what we do, including meeting the team and to read a few testimonials about our work, please head over here.

Life is a Tug-of-War:
Grab this opportunity to change lives!

Help our educators to help
our children

Looking for advice?

We’ve got you covered. Our newsletters and books cover hundreds of topics and challenges relevant to young people, parents and grandparents. Make sure you subscribe to our ‘News & Advice’ section to stay up to date with regular new topics as discussed by our panel of experts.

Talks

We’re delighted to present a range of talks ready for you to enjoy, whether you’re a parent, high school learner, an educator or even a youth leader.

Books

For more, check out our range of books, including Life Talk for a Daughter, Life Talk for a Son, Life Talk for Parents and the Tug of Life, which have all been written by acclaimed author, Izabella Gates. Each book offers a unique perspective based on a variety of issues faced by teens and parents alike.

Connect with Us

We’re always just a stone’s throw away via social media or through our contact page. Questions, queries, topic suggestions… shoot! We’d love to hear from you and our team will get back to you as soon as possible.

All advice given is given in good faith and the Life Talk team and its advisors/panel members cannot accept responsibility for any consequent actions arising therefrom.

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Organisation Background

The Life Talk Forum is a South African team dedicated to empowering young people to become their best selves by making life-enriching choices; and equipping parents for proactive parenting. It strives to help create happy, successful and fulfilled youth, guided by sound values – and it is committed to making the adolescent journey smoother for both teens and parents.

It all started back in 2004, when Izabella Gates (author names Izabella Little and Izabella Little-Gates) wrote her first book, the best-selling Life Talk for a Daughter. Emails flooded in from teens and parents, and these prompted her to assemble a panel of psychologists and counsellors and the Life Talk Forum was born. Izabella subsequently wrote Life Talk for a Son and Life Talk for Parents, and most recently The Tug of Life, and the rest as they say, is history.

The Tug of Life is both a book and a game plan for life. It is a guide to unpacking the complexities of life by identifying its choices, challenges and solutions. Utilising a unique and entertaining approach, the book provides a simple way of identifying what’s taking place in the various situations encountered in adolescence, at work, in marriage, parenting, health, aging and in other aspects of life. The book underpins the Life Talk initiatives and it inspires debate about many of the key issues facing everyone (young and old) in today’s demanding world. “Essential reading for all adolescents, adults of all ages and families.”

Life Talk Forum’s Objectives

To raise awareness about challenges, and stimulate debate about choices and consequences.
To focus on solutions and helpful aspects.
To promote values and virtues.
To empower people to take control of their lives in order to achieve their desired outcomes.
Introduce The Tug-of-Life terminology and methodology into all aspects of life, thereby facilitating a solution-based approach.
To galvanize the whole world into action – and into ‘tugging’ where it counts!