Today we’d like to introduce you to Celia Kibler.
Hi Celia, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My work grew out of both lived experience and decades of hands-on work with children and families. I’m a mom of five, a longtime blended-family parent, and a grandparent, and like many families, ours wasn’t perfect or quiet. I grew up in a home where yelling was common, and even though there was love, there was also a lot of stress and disconnection. That early experience shaped my understanding of how deeply adult behavior and communication affect a child’s sense of safety, confidence, and long-term emotional well-being.
Professionally, my journey began in 1987 when I founded Funfit® Family Fitness with my sister and started in the Baltimore area. I worked extensively with families and special populations and saw firsthand the powerful role movement, play, and physical fitness have in children’s development, behavior, and emotional regulation. Over the years, I also spent more than four decades working directly with children and parents as a preschool teacher, parenting coach, and family educator.
What I consistently saw were loving, well-intentioned parents who felt overwhelmed, unsupported, and stuck, especially when it came to managing stress, behavior, and communication without resorting to yelling. That realization became a turning point in my work. I shifted my focus from simply addressing behavior to helping families build practical, repeatable systems that support calm, cooperation, respect, and connection in everyday life.
That approach grew into my award-winning books, courses, live trainings, private coaching and eventually the Be A Better Parent platform and app, which now supports families around the world. Alongside that work, I founded the Day of Calm Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to stopping violence at its roots by supporting parents, protecting children, and expanding access to parenting education, both locally and globally.
Today, everything I do is guided by one core belief: when we support parents with compassion, structure, and realistic tools, we don’t just improve family life, we change futures and we can look forward to raising generations of adults that don’t have to recover from their childhoods.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth road at all. One of my biggest personal struggles has been self-doubt, especially the childhood conditioning that told me I wasn’t good enough, smart enough, or worthy of helping others or being taken seriously. Those beliefs don’t just disappear with experience or impact; they tend to resurface at the exact moments you’re stepping into something bigger.
Professionally, one of the greatest challenges has been wearing all the hats; creator, coach, educator, nonprofit founder, and marketer, while still trying to stay grounded and present for the families I serve. There were times when the work itself felt deeply aligned, but the financial pressure and responsibility of sustaining it all felt heavy.
Yes, there were moments when I seriously questioned whether I could continue, especially when I wasn’t bringing in the income I needed to support my family. That fear fed directly into my self-doubt and often second-guessing myself, even though I deeply loved the work and believed in its importance.
I’m very open about how growing up around yelling and aggressive communication affected me and my siblings, because I see those same patterns playing out in families everywhere. Children don’t simply “outgrow” those environments, they carry them forward unless something intentionally changes. That understanding has shaped both my healing and my mission.
One thing people don’t see behind the scenes is that I rarely feel fully proud of myself. Instead of stopping me, that inner tension actually drives me forward, it keeps me learning, refining, and pushing to do better, not just for myself, but for the families and children who depend on this work.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I would describe my professional life as a blend of education, entrepreneurship, and creative problem-solving, all centered around supporting families. My work focuses on helping parents build calm, respectful, and cooperative relationships with their children, without yelling, fear, or shame, while still maintaining structure, responsibility, and connection.
I specialize in practical, real-life parenting systems. Rather than offering theory or one-size-fits-all advice, I create tools and language parents can use in the exact moments they struggle most, during morning routines, emotional meltdowns, homework battles, and relationship stress. I’m especially known for helping families break generational cycles of yelling and aggressive communication and replace them with calm leadership and mutual respect.
What truly sets my work apart is the depth and breadth of my experience. I bring more than 40 years of hands-on work with children and families, combined with lived experience as a mom, stepmom, and grandparent. I’ve walked through every stage of childhood and into adulthood, personally and professionally, and I understand what parents are facing because I’ve been there.
In addition to parenting and relationship coaching, my background includes health and wellness education, children’s fitness, and family well-being. I’m a certified kids yoga teacher, certified nutritionist, certified in weight management, and have decades of experience in children’s fitness through founding Funfit® Family Fitness. That holistic foundation allows me to support families not just in behavior and communication, but in creating healthier, more balanced, and less toxic environments, physically, emotionally, and relationally.
I’m most proud of helping families feel empowered rather than judged. Parents don’t come to me to be told what they’re doing wrong, they come to feel supported, understood, and equipped. When parents feel confident and regulated, children thrive. That ripple effect, from individual families to communities and future generations, is what drives my work every day.
At its core, my work is about helping families build lives rooted in calm, connection, and respect, so children grow up feeling safe, valued, and prepared for adulthood.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Over the next 5–10 years, I see the parenting and family wellness space shifting strongly toward prevention rather than repair. For too long, families have been offered help only once things reach a breaking point. The future of this industry will focus on equipping parents earlier, before stress turns into chronic conflict, disconnection, or harm. Parenting education will increasingly be recognized as foundational, not optional.
At the same time, I believe we’ll see significant growth in accessible, on-demand support, supported by technology used thoughtfully and ethically. Parents don’t just need information, they need guidance in the moment, when emotions are high and decisions matter. Digital tools, including app-based and AI-assisted support, will help bridge that gap by making calm, practical guidance available when families need it most, without replacing human connection. Exactly why I created the Be A Better Parent app now, so parents have solutions when they need them.
Another major shift will be toward whole-family wellness. Parenting support will no longer be siloed into behavior alone. The industry will increasingly recognize how emotional regulation, physical health, relationships, stress, and environment all intersect. Families will seek integrated support that helps them create healthier, less toxic environments, for their children and for themselves.
I also see a cultural shift underway. The stigma around needing parenting support is fading, and more families are acknowledging that raising children is one of the most complex roles we take on. Over the next decade, I believe we’ll see parenting education woven more intentionally into schools, communities, and workplaces as part of a proactive approach to family and societal well-being.
Ultimately, the future of this industry is about access, compassion, and early support, meeting families where they are, before problems escalate, and giving them tools that help build calm, connected, and resilient homes.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://beabetterparent.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beabetterparentdotcom
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/celia.kibler
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/celiakibler?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Twitter: https://x.com/celiakibler?s=21&t=jAkcRNZhZzyo_B3uL8ENtQ
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@beabetterparentdotcom
- Other: https://www.skool.com/beabetterparent/about?ref=f798d3fd17924db88be9fc87b0784c1e
