Joe and Rose Kennedy married in 1914. They set up housekeeping in Brookline, Massachusetts, but would later move to a suburb of Manhattan to be nearer to Joe's work. Both were grandchildren of Irish immigrants and understood how privileged they were to be Americans. They believed they should have no expectations nor should they take anything for granted. These were values that they would instill in their children, nine in all, many of whom would become very accomplished and even one a US president.

The babies appeared with regularity in the following order: Joe, Jack, Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Pat, Bobby, Jean and Teddy. Each had a special place in the family, and each had his or her own abilities, talents, personalities and frailties. The Kennedys were devout Catholics, and Rose attended Mass every morning.

"The Kennedy family had a huge impact on American politics, and any admirer of theirs, which is probably the closest thing to royalty that America ever had, will be fascinated by this behind-the-scenes look at their childhoods."

Joe and Rose had definite ideas on child rearing. Whenever one of their children would begin to complain, Joe would stop them with his oft-repeated "Fix it. There's no whining in this house." This phrase would echo in their ears well into adulthood. Joe encouraged, even pushed, his kids to do their best, but told them, "After you have done the best you can, then the hell with it." Rose taught them manners and stressed the importance of education and being well informed. To that end, she clipped articles from the newspaper, pinned them to her dress, and appeared at breakfast each morning ready to inform her children as well as challenge them to think.

In a household containing nine children, keeping some sense of discipline and order was of prime importance. To that end, Rose tried to nip any misbehavior in the bud lest it would spread on down the line. Her preferred form of punishment was banishing the guilty party to "time out" in her large clothes closet. One day she sent Jean to do closet penance for some minor infraction. A little while later, the door opened and Teddy quietly entered. Rose didn't realize she had already banished Jean to the closet (she could be forgiven this little slip, couldn't she, considering she was trying to keep tabs on nine children?), thus Teddy and Jean whiled away a pleasant afternoon trying on Rose's shoes and entertaining each other.

The family spent their summers in a large white house right on the beach at Hyannis Port. The Nantucket Sound was just beyond their lawn. They swam, rode bikes, played tennis, went sailing and raced sailboats. The children eagerly looked forward to these carefree vacations.

The Kennedy family was like any other clan in that it had its share of both joy and sorrow. Rosemary had mental disabilities. Jack was a very sickly child. The children being normal kids fought over who would get the last piece of cake. They played tricks on one another. And some of their athletic games got a bit contentious at times since they were highly competitive.

Jean was the eighth child and is the only remaining member of the family. Several lived very accomplished lives, and sadly, several died tragically. Though the family had great wealth as well as power and prestige, this alone does not guarantee one a charmed life. The Kennedy family had a huge impact on American politics, and any admirer of theirs, which is probably the closest thing to royalty that America ever had, will be fascinated by this behind-the-scenes look at their childhoods.