Do you tend to think about what might go wrong instead of what might go right? Negativity is our default mode and can be disastrous for a family, but what if bad can sometimes be leveraged for good in your home? The power of bad can actually be leveraged for good. Learn when bad really is bad, and when it actually serves as a useful consequence for kids.
Listen to the Happy Home Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
See David Thomas, Sissy Goff, and Arlene Pellicane live at the Parents Rising Conference on September 6, 2025 in San Diego. Tickets on sale now
Today’s episode is a message Arlene shared on Mother’s Day at Bonita Valley Community Church in San Diego about the Power of Bad. You’ll hear about the following and even hear me rapping about Deuteronomy:
4:40 Would you drink juice that had a sterilized cockroach dipped in it?
7:50 The negativity effect and what it does to your thinking
9:50 How many positive comments are needed to cancel out a negative one?
12:20 One billion users on TikTok
15:15 How light acts as a disinfectant
19:00 When bad is actually helpful
23:00 Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them
25:15 Study of reward and punishment for kids
29:00 Arlene is rapping???
33:00 Heart cracking goodness
Arlene Pellicane is the host of the Happy Home podcast, a speaker and author of several books including Making Marriage Easier, Screen Kids, and Parents Rising. She has been featured on FamilyLife Today, Focus on the Family, the Wall Street Journal, and The Today Show. She and her husband James have three children (two in college and one in high school).
Learn more at Happy Home University
Tickets on sale now! You’re invited to see Arlene live with David Thomas and Sissy Goff at the Parents Rising Conference in San Diego, September 6, 2025.
Have a question for Arlene to address on the podcast? Please email Arlene your questions and the topics you want covered on the show! Email speaking @ arlenepellicane.com
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