For ocean swim instructor and founder of Salty Swim School, Kirrah Wandmaker, helping children develop a positive relationship with water begins long before they enter the ocean. After years of teaching swimming, she saw a need for parents to have simple, practical ways to introduce water familiarity and foundational skills at home, particularly during those early months when traditional swimming lessons may not feel like the right fit. That realisation inspired My Bathtime Adventure, a playful book designed to bring her years of swimming knowledge into the everyday bath-time routine and help families build confidence, connection and curiosity around water from the very beginning. Here, Kirrah talks to The Natural Parent Magazine about the inspiration behind her book and her hopes for helping more children develop a lifelong love of the water.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
After years of teaching swimming, I found myself constantly wishing there was a way I could share all the little things I wanted every family to know before lessons even began, because I could see how much more confident and relaxed both the children and parents were when they understood the foundations first.
I would spend so much time explaining skills, techniques and little things parents could practise at home, but once families got home, it was often hard for them to remember everything, especially while navigating life with a new baby. I knew how effective my teaching methods were when families consistently practised small, gentle skills outside of lessons, and I became passionate about finding a way to make that knowledge accessible beyond lessons.
Once I started my ocean-based swim school, I also realised just how many parents were searching for a chlorine-free alternative to traditional swimming lessons. More and more families were expressing concerns about exposing their babies’ sensitive skin to chlorine, particularly in that first year of life, while still wanting to give their child the best possible start around water.
Because there were very few alternatives available, I had families travelling over 100km each week to attend my ocean-based classes. I also noticed many children were starting lessons much later, 3 years old or older, because parents had delayed swimming until they found an option they felt comfortable with. If children haven’t had much prior water exposure, it can actually be one of the hardest ages to begin.
That became a huge inspiration behind My Bathtime Adventure. I wanted to create something that allowed every parent, whether they had access to swimming lessons or not, to confidently introduce early swimming skills and water familiarity from the safety and warmth of their own bath at home. My husband was actually the one who encouraged me to turn those ideas into a book. I hesitated for a long time thinking it would be too difficult to create, but eventually I decided to just give it a go, and now I’m so grateful I did.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
For years I had been teaching these skills and sharing this information in classes, but I wanted parents to have something they could take home and continue practising with. During the off-season of the swim school, I officially started writing the book.
My first “launch” was simply giving the explainer guide to all the families in my beginner baby class (2-9 months). The difference it made in lessons was incredible. Parents already understood the background skills, so classes could focus more on connection and progression instead of trying to explain everything while they were distracted by their little one. Families were able to practise at home and arrive more prepared and confident. It was almost like being able to have seven lessons a week from your bath at home each night.
After receiving positive feedback from families, I officially ran the first print and launched the books on my website. The initial sales were mostly parents from within the swim school community, but from there the word slowly began to spread. It’s been incredibly exciting knowing there are now families I’ve never even met practising these important beginner skills at home and benefiting from the knowledge in the books.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
The biggest breakthrough was realising how many families were searching for this kind of information and support, especially parents wanting a gentler and more natural introduction to water for their babies.
For years I had been teaching these skills in lessons and explaining them to parents verbally, but once I created the guide and families could practise consistently at home, the difference was incredible. The children arrived more confident and familiar with the water, and the parents felt much more relaxed and empowered too.
That was when I realised the book was more than just a resource for my own students. There was a real gap between parents wanting to avoid chlorine pools in those early months and still wanting to confidently introduce water skills and familiarity. Creating My Bathtime Adventure allowed me to turn all the knowledge and teaching methods I had built over years of experience into something accessible, playful and easy for families to use in their everyday routine at home.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
I’m actually pregnant at the moment and due any day now, so I am just entering the work/family balance stage myself. The last swim school season was definitely challenging, trying to show up for my students with the same energy while dealing with months of nausea and back pain. But I guess that’s the beginning of learning how to balance family life and work life.
I think it will become a really beautiful balance though, spending summers by the beach with my family while doing work I genuinely love. Launching my book while pregnant has been such a special experience, especially knowing I’ll soon get to experience all these activities and moments with my own little boy. I will admit though, there was definitely a delay in the launch due to my pregnancy nausea. I decided to give myself a few extra months so I wasn’t too overwhelmed, and I have definitely learned that it’s okay to slow down during this stage of life.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
One of the biggest challenges has been learning everything outside of teaching itself. I feel very confident in my knowledge and experience teaching swimming and sharing these skills through my book, but I’ve also had to learn marketing, promotion and all the behind-the-scenes business work.
I’m definitely more of an outdoors person than someone who loves sitting behind a computer, so making time for that side of the workload has been a challenge. I’ve learnt to take advantage of rainy days or set myself up on a nice sunny afternoon in a cosy corner of the house to get the work done. Northern-facing windows definitely help.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
The pros are definitely the flexibility, choosing my own hours and being able to build classes and experiences in a way that feels aligned with my values. I love being able to let children learn at their own pace and in a way that feels comfortable for them, rather than a rigid structure. It also gives me the freedom to teach in the style I believe in and create resources, like my book, that support families beyond the lesson itself. I can structure my days in a way that best supports each child’s learning journey, whether that’s in the ocean, in lessons or through simple at-home practice.
The cons are, ironically, sometimes the lack of flexibility. At this stage it’s still just me, so over summer I need to be present for the swim school each week because the lessons run on a consistent term schedule. The children also build strong relationships with you as their teacher, so bringing in a fill-in instructor can sometimes change the dynamic and impact what they get out of the class.
There’s also a strong need for personal drive. Running your own business means that not everything is fun or creative like teaching or working with the kids. The behind-the-scenes tasks still need to get done, and I’ve had to learn to motivate myself through those parts of the business even when they’re not the most exciting.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
I hope to continue spreading this knowledge far and wide. I’ve loved creating My Bathtime Adventure and seeing families, friends and complete strangers benefit from the skills in the book. I have plans for another four books in the series that take children through the step-by-step journey of building water confidence, ultimately finishing with them feeling comfortable and capable in the ocean.
After running my ocean swim school for four seasons, I would love to teach more parents how to give their children the best possible start in the ocean. The confidence and independence children develop through games, exploration and ocean familiarity is incredible.
I am hoping to create a whole series that motivates and inspires children and their parents to love the ocean and swimming. There are so many aspects of the ocean that can naturally feel intimidating for kids, and I feel that a picture book can build familiarity before the experience. It allows children to feel inspired, confident and curious rather than fearful.
I would love to take the knowledge that currently sits within my swim school and make it accessible to more children than I am physically able to teach. Over the last two seasons especially, my swim school has been at full capacity with a growing waiting list, so I am looking for ways to share this education more broadly, even when I can’t teach each child directly.
I truly wish more children could experience an ocean childhood and that parents could feel confident and connected throughout their child’s water journey. It also gives families with multiple children more freedom and confidence to enjoy the beach together, knowing their kids understand their limits and are becoming more capable and independent in the water.
Find out more at saltyswimschool.com.au and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
