Fall at Beaches: Where Toddlers Rule and Time Rests

This is for the parents of children under the age of five everywhere. We know what many of you are thinking, quietly, about summer becoming fall. “I’m glad my little one hasn’t started school yet.” There’s a private sense of relief knowing the summer crowds at the playgrounds, pools, and beaches are all back to school. Meantime, time with your little ones is still completely yours.

And that brings us to a profound thought on the minds of parents at this stage of family life. You want to find a pause button, a way to seize this time when you’re still free of alarms, school schedules, and after-school schedules, and when vacations are not restricted to summers, holidays, and spring breaks.

Enter the Fall Fam Jam at Beaches Negril and Beaches Turks and Caicos.

During the Fall Fam Jam, every moment slows down, just as it should in a tropical paradise. The pace. The decision-making. The minutes and the hours. You arrive, exhale the busyness of summer, and enjoy the mere presence of each other. And because of that, time practically stops.

The phrase is catchy, but there’s also a strong message in each word. In inverse order, the “Jam” refers to the fun, laid-back rhythm of island life; “Fam” refers to you, and “Fall” is a reminder that the pause button on life works right here and right now, when parents are untethered to school and have the freedom to escape during the best season to travel within little ones.

On a Monday morning, as K-12 kids scramble for their school backpacks and hustle out the door — with mom leading the hustle from the driver’s seat — parents of Fall Fam Jammers are making the biggest decision of their day from the comfort of an oceanview family suite at Beaches.

“Do we want to stroll through the morning glory to indulge in platters of tropical pancakes with Elmo and his Sesame Street friends? Or … should we roll over for another hour of peaceful sleep?”

There is no “correct” choice. Sleep, eat, swim. Eat, swim, sleep. Eat, swim, eat. Swim, swim, swim.

Without looking at a clock, you’ll know from the sound of techno toddler tunes when the Pirate’s Island Splash Bash has started. It’s a celebration in the shallows of the splash zone, with fruit kabobs, popsicles, and lifeguards, which allows parents to relax under an umbrella with their own favorite beverages.

On to … what day is it … Tuesday? Days don’t matter here. While students across America race to beat the school bells, families at Fall Fam Jam walk barefoot, coffee and juice in hand, to a Sesame Street Sunrise Yoga session on an impeccable Beaches lawn. With apologies to yesterday, today is about to become the most relaxing day ever, kick-started with vitamin C, vitamin D, and, on a neighboring mat, Elmo curling into a cobra pose.

The nearest book bag or care is a thousand miles away. Instead of sitting at desks set up in neat rows, toddlers at Beaches settle onto beach blankets near the ocean, where they draw and paint the first thing they see: palm trees and water, with colors that before now they (and you) had never seen.

The little beachside gathering, called Mini Murals and Mocktails, is the Fall Fam Jam version of a “paint and sip” party. The kids sip fancy-looking tropical juice drinks while parents sip whatever pairs well with island time.

Later, after more swimming, more ice-cream licking, and more not caring about schedules, a parade will break out, following a doodling path along the walkways and pool decks. There are local musicians, the entire Sesame Street team, the Beaches entertainment troupe, and, hey, isn’t that the mural the kids painted next to the sea earlier today?

Yes, it is. Another unforgettable moment among a continuous series of memory-making.

There are music classes at Beaches’ Fall Fam Jam, too, although they are not really “classes” at all. At Baby Jammers, there are no walls and no rules because what could possibly be more musically inspiring than playing baby-friendly instruments surrounded by happy baby friends under the shade of palm fronds and with the harmony of the ocean in the background?

When nighttime hits, it’s time to bring out those Caribbean pa-JAM-as. In a full expression of freedom, moms, dads, and kids top the night off at the Family PaJAMa Dessert Party, which pretty much explains itself — sweet treats enjoyed from the comfort of onesies. That’s the dress code, after all.

And the moments keep coming. Unscripted. Untimed. Unhurried.

Another sit and soak on the beach? Yes. Another round of smoothies in the pool? Definitely. Two more — no, make it 20 more — trips down the waterslide? Those are unlimited, too.

Go to bed late and get up late. Go to bed early and get up early … or late. That’s the beauty of the fall at Beaches.

Here, you’re on your own time: family time.

And for some families, this trip marks a quiet milestone: a first passport. Beaches has found a thoughtful way to honor that moment with its Tiny Traveler’s First Passport initiative – a gentle nod to the significance of traveling internationally with little ones for the first time. It’s not about perks or promotions, but about recognizing the beauty of beginning a lifetime of exploration together. That first stamp becomes more than a mark in a booklet; it’s a memory made in sunshine, laughter, and the comfort of being together.

That’s what Fall Fam Jam is really about. It’s not just the freedom from schedules or the joy of island time, but the chance to be fully present for the little things that turn into the big things. A first splash. A first smoothie. A first stamp in a tiny passport. All of it adding up to something that feels a lot like the good old days, only they’re happening right now.