'I'm convinced a second gunman was involved in killing my uncle': Robert Kennedy

[JDPriestly]

53. Robert Kennedy, Jr. was 6 at the time (born in 1954).

It is quite believable to me that he caught a salamander or lizard and took it to his uncle in the White House. Quite believable. The family was very close.

And, remembering very stressful times in your childhood is difficult. In general, children live much more in the emotional moment than we adults do. We learn to separate ourselves from reality and think in the abstract about what is going on. It is possible that Robert Kennedy, Jr. remembered his experience but may be confused about who else was there. That does not detract from the veracity of his memory of his emotions and those of others around him. It does not make him any less reliable with regard to remembering the feelings that he perceived his father as having especially with regard to the Warren Report. In fact, Robert Kennedy, Jr. may have been more aware of his fathers feelings about the Warren Report and may remember his perception of those feelings than was or did his father. Adults rationalize and reconsider and work to conform their feelings to what they think their feelings should be. Children tend to be more raw in their feelings.

That is my experience with children and feelings anyway. I pay attention to what a child feels in a situation. They are often more perceptive about what is going on than are the adults around them. I say that based on years of babysitting when I was young and being a mother and now a grandmother. Pay attention to your child's emotional reactions. They tell a lot about what is really going on.