March 18

Forgive Mom and Dad Day

An annual observance on March 18 encouraging adult children to forgive their parents for past mistakes and release long-held resentments.

Yearly Date

March 18

Observed in

United States

Introduction

Forgive Mom and Dad Day asks a deceptively simple question: can you let go of what your parents got wrong? The premise is not that parents were perfect, but that carrying resentment indefinitely has a measurable cost.

Psychologists who study forgiveness have found that it reduces anger, anxiety, and depression, and that forgiving parents specifically predicts lower parent-child conflict and better family functioning over time. This is one of the few lighthearted holidays with serious clinical research behind it.

Forgive Mom and Dad Day History

The scientific study of forgiveness is younger than most people assume. Until the late 1980s, forgiveness was considered a religious or philosophical concept, not a psychological one. In 1989, psychologist Robert Enright at the University of Wisconsin-Madison began the first systematic research program on forgiveness, developing a four-phase process model that moved forgiveness from moral instruction into measurable clinical practice.

The research that followed was specific and surprising. A longitudinal study found that when children and mothers forgave the father, the family showed greater expressiveness and less conflict 12 months later. Studies of adolescents at Brigham Young University demonstrated that forgiving parents directly predicted lower parent-child conflict. Research with children of divorce found that forgiveness of the mother was the strongest predictor of the child's psychological well-being.

The holiday's creation

Thomas and Ruth Roy of Wellcat Holidays created Forgive Mom and Dad Day as a March 18 observance. The couple has copyrighted over 80 unofficial holidays, including International Day for Failure and National No Housework Day. Their holidays tend to name emotional experiences that people recognize but rarely discuss. Forgive Mom and Dad Day landed in a culture where the research was catching up to the intuition: holding grudges against parents is common, measurable in its effects, and addressable through deliberate practice.

Forgive Mom and Dad Day Timeline

1989

Forgiveness becomes a research field

Psychologist Robert Enright at the University of Wisconsin-Madison began the first systematic academic research on forgiveness, establishing the International Forgiveness Institute and developing a process model that became the standard framework for clinical forgiveness interventions.

1998

Campaign for Forgiveness Research launched

The John Templeton Foundation funded a major campaign to advance the scientific study of forgiveness, resulting in dozens of peer-reviewed studies on its effects on mental and physical health.

2000s

Parent-child forgiveness studies published

Researchers at Brigham Young University and other institutions published studies showing that adolescents who forgive their parents experience measurably less family conflict, and that forgiveness patterns between family members predict family functioning up to 12 months later.

2000s

Wellcat Holidays creates the observance

Thomas and Ruth Roy of Wellcat Holidays established Forgive Mom and Dad Day on March 18. The couple has created over 80 unofficial holidays, many focused on overlooked emotional experiences.

2010s

Forgiveness education programs expand

Parent-led forgiveness programs were developed and tested, showing that structured forgiveness education increases children's hope and self-esteem while reducing anxiety. The programs demonstrated that forgiveness is a teachable skill, not just a disposition.

How to Celebrate Forgive Mom and Dad Day

1

Write a letter you do not have to send

Write to your parent describing what hurt you, why it mattered, and what you wish had been different. UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center recommends this as a first step in their forgiveness framework. The act of writing externalizes the grievance and makes it easier to process.
2

Learn the four phases of forgiveness

Read about Robert Enright's four-phase process model: uncovering anger, deciding to forgive, working on forgiveness, and discovering meaning. Understanding the structure makes forgiveness feel like a practice rather than a leap of faith.
3

Call your parent about something small

You do not have to address the big things today. Call about a recipe, a memory, or something you saw that reminded you of them. Rebuilding connection through low-stakes conversation is a recognized step in the forgiveness process.
4

Talk to a therapist about specific resentments

If the hurt is serious, use the Psychology Today therapist finder to locate a professional who specializes in family therapy or forgiveness interventions. Structured clinical support is more effective than willpower alone for deep-seated grievances.
5

Acknowledge what your parents did right

Write down three specific things your parents taught you or provided that you are grateful for. Research on gratitude and forgiveness shows that actively recognizing positives makes it easier to process the negatives without being consumed by them.

Why Forgive Mom and Dad Day is Important

A

Forgiving parents measurably reduces family conflict

Research from Brigham Young University found that adolescents who forgive their parents experience significantly less parent-child conflict. A separate longitudinal study showed that child and mother forgiveness of the father predicted greater family expressiveness and less overall family conflict 12 months later. The effects are not abstract, they show up in measurable family behaviors.
B

Forgiveness is a trainable skill, not a personality trait

Parent-led forgiveness education programs tested in controlled studies increased children's hope, self-esteem, and positive attitudes toward parents while reducing anxiety. The research established that forgiveness is a learnable process with steps that can be taught, practiced, and measured, not an innate quality that some people have and others lack.
C

Holding grudges has documented health consequences

Unforgiveness is associated with increased anger, anxiety, depression, and reduced psychological well-being. The NIH-funded research on forgiveness has shown that releasing resentment, particularly toward parents, correlates with lower stress markers and improved mental health outcomes. The day highlights that the cost of not forgiving is not only emotional but physiological.