MARK MY WORD: THREE-YEAR-OLDS NEED PLENTY OF CARE AND BAND-AIDS

When you're 3, a strange thing happens. Suddenly, your knees and elbows become life's little punching bags.

Cuts and bruises take center stage, and you wonder how youngsters fared before the invention of Band-Aids.

Our 3-year-old daughter, Bailey, has entered this battle zone.

She regularly comes home from day care with a skinned knee. At times, both knees are scarred.

It's not like she took a flying leap, at least not while we were looking.

Walking can be highly dangerous at this stage of life. There are no government warning labels on kids' knees, but there should be.

The other day, Joni was contemplating putting Bailey in body armor for her own protection.

Fortunately, some hugs, kisses and lots of Band-Aids usually do the trick.

The cuts and scrapes have become so prevalent at our home that I'm thinking of buying a whole truckload of bandages and first-aid cream.

The average first-aid kit wasn't designed with this much mayhem in mind.

Still, Bailey seems to have survived the ordeal without any permanent injuries. Young skin has a way of healing in short order.

That's good because a new boo-boo is usually right around the corner. It's only a matter of time until she walks into it.

It's almost as if there were an invisible assailant that has taken charge of our preschooler's life, tripping her on sidewalks and other rough spots without any warning.

If only the Force were with her. The Force is definitely on store shelves with all those new Star Wars toys taking center stage.

It's been light years in the making, or so it seems. Clearly, there is nothing like a free market to generate enthusiasm from American consumers and anyone else in the galaxy with a good line of credit.

Everything from boys' and men's knit boxer shorts to backpacks and in-line skates to action figures are hot property.

There are Star Wars computer games, party ware and trading cards.

The Naboo Fighter Space Shooter Target Game fires foam discs for "real live action," one advertisement proclaims.

I'm sure it's only a matter of time until this stuff starts showing up in the White House game room. The president has to have something to do when he's not bombing Yugoslavia.

What Bailey and all 3-year-olds clearly need is a Jedi knight who instantly can come to their rescue and protect them from life's little battle scars.

Either that, or we'll have to get our very own light sabers. Those things certainly could come in handy when you're trying to kill mosquitoes in the front yard or get your children to clean up their rooms.

But without the real thing in our grasp, we'll just have to rely on more down-to-earth remedies.

We'll have to settle for knee pads or a lifetime supply of Band-Aids, preferably those cute, colorful ones.

But the best medicine of all can't be found on a store shelf or in the latest first-aid kit.

It's tender-loving care. It's a powerful force as any parent or Jedi knight would tell you.

~Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.