Do the Maxwell girls drive?

[Justme]

I've seen the boys drive, but never the girls. Does Steve think their husbands will haul them around? I have seen Teri drive, too. When they are married, they will have to shop for groceries, take kids to the dr, etc.

[bananacat]

I don't remember which family it was, but one father decided not to teach his daughters to drive, because that should be a decision for their future headship to make. If he doesn't want her escaping, then he might regret that Dad had taught her to drive before giving her away. I don't think this was the Maxwells though.

[kpmom]

In one of the Mom's Corners Teri mentioned Sarah driving to the store to get donuts as a treat for the 1st day of school.

ETA: Does Steve ever allow anyone else to drive Uriah? It doesn't seem like it.

[lilwriter85]

I think one of the other girls might drive. When Terri was writing her book, she gave the task of grocery shopping to Anna and Mary.

[WonderingInWA]

I have seen at least one of the boys behind the wheel of Uriah -- probably DJ (defrauding John).

I have wondered about the girls driving. Like swimming, driving is a life skill and it's potentially dangerous NOT to know how. I surely hope Stevie understands that.

[FloraDoraDolly]

In "Keeping Our Children's Hearts" it mentions that Sarah does drive. But she learned at age 19 and a sibling has to accompany her when she goes out for safety reasons. Anna wouldn't have been old enough to drive at the time this book was published and Mary is still too young.

[bananacat]

In "Keeping Our Children's Hearts" it mentions that Sarah does drive. But she learned at age 19 and a sibling has to accompany her when she goes out for safety reasons. Anna wouldn't have been old enough to drive at the time this book was published and Mary is still too young.

I wonder if the "safety reason" is so that she doesn't does drive off into the sunset and never look back, or drive to some male brothel and lose her purity.

[Lillybee]

Didn't Boob teach either Jill or Jana how to drive the bus?

[YPestis]

Steve and Terri said they are in no hurry to teach their children to drive until it is needed. Hence, Sarah didn't learn to drive until she was 19. John and I think one other boy has taken turns driving Uriah. I don't believe the girls have ever driven the bus or the family car when there's a guy also there. I hate driving so this is one of the few Maxwell policies I wouldn't mind seeing in my own household.....

[Daenerys]

Didn't Boob teach either Jill or Jana how to drive the bus?

I'm pretty sure there was an episode of 19KAC where he taught them all how to drive some sort of buggy round the countryside to get used to the pedals, so it looks like the Duggars aren't against girls driving.

[Want More Babies]

The girl who is not allowed to drive is Bethany Lindvall.

Here father, Jonathan Lindvall said: "My wife regrets the independence that was cultivated in her own life when she got a driver's license. This is an area we've chosen to avoid for our daughter. It's not all that long ago historically that driving was considered something women should leave to men. If Bethany's husband, when she marries, wants her to get a driver's license, that'll be up to him. But we've decided not to rob him of that decision. Bethany is grateful for the protection from such seemingly innocent influences toward independence."

[Justme]

The girl who is not allowed to drive is Bethany Lindvall.

Here father, Jonathan Lindvall said: "My wife regrets the independence that was cultivated in her own life when she got a driver's license. This is an area we've chosen to avoid for our daughter. It's not all that long ago historically that driving was considered something women should leave to men. If Bethany's husband, when she marries, wants her to get a driver's license, that'll be up to him. But we've decided not to rob him of that decision. Bethany is grateful for the protection from such seemingly innocent influences toward independence."

Wow, that's really sad. I can't imagine what kind of a woman regrets having a drivers license. (I don't follow or know these people at all.) They also shouldn't "assume" Bethany will marry. There are lots of unmarried fundie SAHD's.

[Daenerys]

The girl who is not allowed to drive is Bethany Lindvall.

Here father, Jonathan Lindvall said: "My wife regrets the independence that was cultivated in her own life when she got a driver's license. This is an area we've chosen to avoid for our daughter. It's not all that long ago historically that driving was considered something women should leave to men. If Bethany's husband, when she marries, wants her to get a driver's license, that'll be up to him. But we've decided not to rob him of that decision. Bethany is grateful for the protection from such seemingly innocent influences toward independence."

That level of creepiness and control is as bad as the Maxwells if not worse.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

Yeah, the Lindvalls are way up there on the "isolation" factor - they're one of the first extreme sheltering families I heard of, and have written a lot about how children should never be left alone with each other because "foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child" and they will influence each other.

It's possible to live a fully independent adult life without a driver's license, but not IF you want to live the sort of life that the Maxwells do in the sort of places they want to live in. That's where the weird contradiction comes in - if they were living in the middle of a major international city like Tokyo or NYC that'd be one thing, but in the suburbs or places like Leavenworth, it's quite another.

[Daenerys]

Do they have a blog or anything? I've never heard of them even though they really sound extreme even by fundy standards...

[FloraDoraDolly]

I wonder if the "safety reason" is so that she doesn't does drive off into the sunset and never look back, or drive to some male brothel and lose her purity.

I got the impression it has something to do with fear of crime. Then again, I can't imagine Sarah or any other Maxwell has much in the street smarts department.

[Letgo]

Bethany is grateful for the protection

Yeah, I'll bet.

What happens if she does not marry? At some point her parents will die or be unable to drive, then what? When my grandfather died in the early 1960s my grandmother had to learn to drive at age 59 or 60. I am nearly that age and I would sure hate to have to learn NOW.

Being able to drive is a necessary skill in most parts of the US. Even if she does marry her children might get sick or hurt and need to go to the doctor. Does her husband want to always have to drive her to the grocery store? On trips her husband might like another person to help with long drives. Not allowing a daughter to learn to drive is idiotic and controlling. Do young fundie men feel the way this girl's father does?

[Lillybee]

Bethany's father would approve of this: A Saudi woman was sentenced to 10 lashes today for driving.

[bananacat]

There's a reason that many parents are so happy when their teens learn to drive, even if they are reluctant to give their kids more freedom. It's a giant pain to be completely responsible for all the driving in a family. For teenage fundies it's not such a big deal because they'll never need a ride to anyplace except when the entire family is coming with them anyway. But for a fundie wife who has to be in charge of chores and other people, it will be a real problem for the husband. She won't be able to do any grocery shopping unless her husband takes her (most fundies don't live in cities). He should be busy already making money to feed a dozen kids, and now he has to take his wife shopping, dragging all the kids along, and probably in the evening when the store is busiest. So even control freaks should want their slaves to have a driver's license just for their own convenience.