Global Hug Your Kids Day (July 20th, 2026)

Quick facts
When is it?	July 17th, 2017 July 16th, 2018 July 15th, 2019 July 20th, 2020 July 19th, 2021 July 18th, 2022 July 17th, 2023 July 15th, 2024 July 21st, 2025 July 20th, 2026 July 19th, 2027
What's the date pattern?	Third Monday of July
Tagged as:	Children Family Love Parents People & Relationships
What's the hashtag?	#GlobalHugYourKidsDay
When was it founded?	2008
Who founded it?	Michelle Nichols
We first published this page on:	May 24th, 2022
We last updated this page:	Aug 14th, 2025

Contents

Global Hug Your Kids Day offers the perfect reminder to take an extra moment each to show your kids how much they are loved!

How to Celebrate Global Hug Your Kids Day

Observing Global Hug Your Kids Day is one of the simplest and easiest days to celebrate!

Hug Your Kids

Of course, the most specific way to celebrate this day is for parents to make sure that they give their kids an extra hug in honor of Global Hug Your Kids Day. Even better, this is a great time to create an intentional habit of not only hugging, but just generally appreciating kids.

Even when they are difficult or cause parents some headaches, kids are a gift and a blessing to families. So check in with your kid or teenager and give them a hug to let them know how loved they are!

Learn About the Benefits of Hugging

Most people aren’t aware of how healthy hugs are! Global Hug Your Kids Day is a great time to learn about (and share with others) the way that hugs can benefit the body and the mind.

Hugs Reduce Stress

In a world where even young kids can be filled with anxiety about school, peer pressure and other problems in the world, spending 10 seconds or more giving them a simple hug can help to minimize their stress (and yours!).
Hugs Promote Heart Health

With the power to reduce blood pressure as well as providing a dose of oxytocin (the love hormone), hugs can help to maintain a healthy heart.
Hugs Boost the Immune System

Whether it is cold and flu season or just general life, hugging can help anyone’s immune system which aids the body in fighting infections and promotes general well-being.
Hugs Help with Mental Health

Offering a sense of wellness, safety and security, hugs can reduce anxiety and depression and increase dopamine, which is the hormone that makes people feel good.

Ask for a Hug

While hugging is a worthwhile habit, it is important to remember that hugging without asking permission can be a problem, especially if they aren’t your own kids. Grandkids, children of friends, nieces and nephews all are worthy of hugs too, but don’t forget that hugging a child without asking could cross boundaries that make them feel uncomfortable and less safe.

So, just to be sure, ask for a hug first – and give them the freedom to say no. If they aren’t interested in a hug, perhaps offer the option of a high five!

History of Global Hug Your Kids Day

Hugging as a sign of affection has likely been a cultural and familial custom for thousands of years, probably since humanity began. It may have started as a way to share warmth. Though it also seems to be an innate action as a way to bring comfort.

Founded by Michelle Nichols, the first Global Hug Your Kids Day took place in 2008. Ten years after her son, Mark, died from cancer at the age of eight years old, Michelle Nichols wanted to remind parents that childhood is fleeting and they should make an extra effort to hug their kids.