Joseph Maxwell still working on his house

[SPHASH]

Just read the post and the comments. OK FJers who left this one?- I hope he shares the new toy with his female cousins too

>>>>>>>>>

To be discussed.

[Cassia]

Just read the post and the comments. OK FJers who left this one?- I hope he shares the new toy with his female cousins too

>>>>>>>>>

To be discussed.

To be discussed - as in a blog post?

Oh boy, how lucky for us. I can't wait to read even more about the Maxwell's strict gender roles and just how very young their children are when they start to enforce said roles.

In other news, I glanced up the other week to see my almost 2 year old son hugging his toy kitchen. I said, "aww, do you love your kitchen?" He then proceeded to give it a kiss.

Bite me, Steve. If my son wants to play with a toy kitchen or my daughter wants to play with a toy chainsaw, they will simply be encouraged in their play and imagination.

Poor little Joshua, he'll never know the joys of kissing a microwave :lol:

[Georgiana]

Oh no! A boy might learn to cook and then he wouldn't be completely dependent on his mother/sisters/future wife for his sustenance! This independence will probably lead him to never marry, have fun all the time, and live in hedonistic sin all of his days!

[nelliebelle1197]

Oh no! A boy might learn to cook and then he wouldn't be completely dependent on his mother/sisters/future wife for his sustenance! This independence will probably lead him to never marry, have fun all the time, and live in hedonistic sin all of his days!

Oddly, it appears that at least John and Jesse cook. Steve apparently cooks as well. How weird is that?

[SPHASH]

Oddly, it appears that at least John and Jesse cook. Steve apparently cooks as well. How weird is that?

Steve grills and that's it. Many dads and husbands do that. Let's see him whip up a five course meal.

[WonderingInWA]

Steve grills and that's it. Many dads and husbands do that. Let's see him whip up a five course meal.

No, no, he grills...AND he mashes beans. He's the bean-masher on burrito-making days. He plays a very important role in the making of burritos.

ETA: He's known as Mashin' Maxwell in those parts...

[nelliebelle1197]

I hate to be a bitch (but I AM in the Bitch Corner) but poor little Joshua just isn't cute. The girls are adorable- Abigail is downright gorgeous- so maybe the little fellow just pales next to those three spunky girls. Those girls all had a spark even as toddlers that Joshua seems to lack. It makes me nervous for him and the future, to be honest, because out of all of them, I see Christopher as the one most likely to be a zealot nutjob (Joseph is very close second)

[salex]

Not to mention creepy... It's really weird how they've decided to grow beards "as a family", that they have matching outfits most of the time "as a family". Is anyone there allowed to develop a personality?

Since I don't know their names, I thought this would be one of the adult sons in the matching clothing.. I'm going to give him a pass on the kiddie Carharts, because I can see that kind of grandpas little helper happening in lots of families.

However, matching clothing or not, I don't think they or many of the other families we read about here encourage anyone having their own personality. Matching clothing seems a way to diminish the individual and distance them from the visibly other people.

[Jana814]

Just read the post and the comments. OK FJers who left this one?- I hope he shares the new toy with his female cousins too

>>>>>>>>>

To be discussed.

Saw that too & was wondering the same thing.

[Justme]

I hate to be a bitch (but I AM in the Bitch Corner) but poor little Joshua just isn't cute. The girls are adorable- Abigail is downright gorgeous- so maybe the little fellow just pales next to those three spunky girls. Those girls all had a spark even as toddlers that Joshua seems to lack. It makes me nervous for him and the future, to be honest, because out of all of them, I see Christopher as the one most likely to be a zealot nutjob (Joseph is very close second)

Josh is a blond Christopher.

It's like they are all ready training him for his future occupation.

[anjulibai]

Saw that too & was wondering the same thing.

They've gotten a lot of comments from people noticing that separation amongst the cousins. I'm guessing they're beginning to feel a need to explain it.

[usmcmom]

They've gotten a lot of comments from people noticing that separation amongst the cousins. I'm guessing they're beginning to feel a need to explain it.

I know some non-religious people who don't let their boys play with "girl" toys; it seems to be kind of a macho thing with the dad in these cases. I don't agree with it, but I've seen it in many types of families. What I don't understand is that Joshua never seems to play with his cousins, even on the swing set outside. He is so close in age to Christina, they'd have a wonderful time playing together. Some of my fondest memories are of playing with nearby cousins - boys and girls. These kids are being robbed of a chance to have a wonderful lifelong relationship with cousins. It is just so sad and I don't think there is any scripture to support keeping children separate from one another.

I'm also beginning to wonder if the married sons have had some sort of falling out and that's why their children are never together. If not, Steve needs to be aware that his need to control gender roles makes it appear that his family doesn't live in harmony.

[usmcmom]

I hate to be a bitch (but I AM in the Bitch Corner) but poor little Joshua just isn't cute. The girls are adorable- Abigail is downright gorgeous- so maybe the little fellow just pales next to those three spunky girls. Those girls all had a spark even as toddlers that Joshua seems to lack. It makes me nervous for him and the future, to be honest, because out of all of them, I see Christopher as the one most likely to be a zealot nutjob (Joseph is very close second)

I have wondered if Christopher limits Joshua's food, which is possible considering Steve's example. I know not all toddlers have chubby arms and legs, but Joshua just seems so slight - not skinny, exactly, but like he's not at the weight his body is meant to be at. I'm not quite sure how to describe it; he just seems like he's not quite as healthy as he should be.

[MamaJunebug]

Ugh, the post before the Carhartts got me. "Everybody needed mudboots, even the girl with the camera."

Sarah, honey? You ceased being a girl at the time of your menarche. Now, pushing 33, you are a lovely woman. W-o-m-a-n, I'll say it again.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

It's like they are all ready training him for his future occupation.

Yep - even when the kids are too young to do any real work (or in cases like this where the real work would be FAR too dangerous) they play at pretend working. It's weird.

Plenty of kids do this, of course, but it's interesting that this is the play that they will feature on the blog, this is the sort of play that matches the image the family wants to portray. It's all about learning to love working from a very early age, as they've written about in their books. Everything for the goal.

The girls get into actual chores pretty early because there's enough stuff to do around the house (sweeping, wiping cabinets, etc) that isn't actually dangerous.

What I don't understand is that Joshua never seems to play with his cousins, even on the swing set outside. He is so close in age to Christina, they'd have a wonderful time playing together. Some of my fondest memories are of playing with nearby cousins - boys and girls. These kids are being robbed of a chance to have a wonderful lifelong relationship with cousins. It is just so sad and I don't think there is any scripture to support keeping children separate from one another.

I'm also beginning to wonder if the married sons have had some sort of falling out and that's why their children are never together. If not, Steve needs to be aware that his need to control gender roles makes it appear that his family doesn't live in harmony.

It's hard to tell just what's going on right now because the boy and girl cousins are from different families. Joshua is still an only child, isn't he?

If the new baby on the way ends up being a girl, then we'll probably be able to tell more - is it a gender segregation thing, or a family segregation thing? We'd see if the potential new girl hangs with the girl cousins, or if it's Joshua and new girl vs. the other girl cousins. If the kid ends up a boy, the mystery continues.

In "Keeping Our Children's Hearts" the Maxwells write about how they segregated their children off from cousins and other family members who had different "goals" for their children (the cousin families weren't super fundie, they did Easter Egg hunts, etc). If the kids were raised that way, probably they would have no qualms about segregating the cousins of this generation from each other, if they felt that the families again had different "goals."

So yeah, maybe even if not a "falling out," if the two families view themselves as needing to turtle up and make sure their kids each have only their hyper-precise doctrine being taught, then perhaps they don't want them to mix freely. I'm wondering about that same thing.

[anjulibai]

gardenvarietycitizen, the new baby was born in February. It was a girl they named Ruthanne Elizabeth. I'm surprised they haven't posted more pictures of her. When Joshua and Christina were both born, there were a ton of pictures over the first several months.

[16strong]

gardenvarietycitizen, the new baby was born in February. It was a girl they named Ruthanne Elizabeth. I'm surprised they haven't posted more pictures of her. When Joshua and Christina were both born, there were a ton of pictures over the first several months.

From the few post-birth pictures of Anna Marie we've seen, she looks very, very tired. I think she is finding two kids a lot harder than she thought she would. So in that light, I think it's not surprising we haven't seen more of her.

[anjulibai]

From the few post-birth pictures of Anna Marie we've seen, she looks very, very tired. I think she is finding two kids a lot harder than she thought she would. So in that light, I think it's not surprising we haven't seen more of her.

That might explain no pics of Anna, but not of Ruthanne. You'd think Christopher would be taking pics regularly.

I'm also surprised that the women in the family haven't gone to help out more often. Of course, that could be why Joshua was at the main family house.

[nausicaa]

I know some non-religious people who don't let their boys play with "girl" toys; it seems to be kind of a macho thing with the dad in these cases. I don't agree with it, but I've seen it in many types of families. What I don't understand is that Joshua never seems to play with his cousins, even on the swing set outside. He is so close in age to Christina, they'd have a wonderful time playing together. Some of my fondest memories are of playing with nearby cousins - boys and girls. These kids are being robbed of a chance to have a wonderful lifelong relationship with cousins. It is just so sad and I don't think there is any scripture to support keeping children separate from one another.

I'm also beginning to wonder if the married sons have had some sort of falling out and that's why their children are never together. If not, Steve needs to be aware that his need to control gender roles makes it appear that his family doesn't live in harmony.

That's what I think. I can see Christopher having major qualms with Melanie and her lack of Maxwell level piety.

[anjulibai]

I agree, Christopher would take issue with Melanie and her family of fun. Of the two eldest, he definitely comes across as the most strict ideologically. I'm sure having the only grandson, with a wife without obvious fertility issues, only adds to his sense of self-righteousness.

[Jana814]

I agree, Christopher would take issue with Melanie and her family of fun. Of the two eldest, he definitely comes across as the most strict ideologically. I'm sure having the only grandson, with a wive with obvious fertility issues, only adds to his sense of self-righteousness.

Good point. He probably got a big chip on his shoulder that he got the male child as a first born.

[anjulibai]

Good point. He probably got a big chip on his shoulder that he got the male child as a first born.

I could easily imagine Christopher seeing Nathan and Melanie as being punished with difficult pregnancies, miscarriages, the death of a child and lots of girls. Not that the rest of the family would, but Christopher just seems the type.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

gardenvarietycitizen, the new baby was born in February. It was a girl they named Ruthanne Elizabeth. I'm surprised they haven't posted more pictures of her. When Joshua and Christina were both born, there were a ton of pictures over the first several months.

Ah yes. Somehow I completely spaced on it. Now I remember commenting on the name even! :P

Still that puts her at what, 3 months? I guess we'll know for certain what the dividing line is in a few more months, when she's old enough to play?

Has she been "advertised" with the other girl cousins? I should go check the blog...

[terranova]

There were a series of (awful) photos taken shortly after Ruthanne was born, with the girl cousins.

I wonder if Christopher is worried that Melanie's lite upbringing will rub off on Anna.

[Trynn]

Wait... At the time of menarche? Sorry, that's not when it happens. At 11, I was not a woman, I was still a little girl!