Avinash and Prakash had been best friends since the fifth grade. They grew up together, went to school and college together and in fact, even ended up raising their families in the same colony. Every evening they would get together after work and sit to talk about their day over a cup of piping hot coffee. “You know yesterday Priyal, my daughter, came up to me and asked me about when was the last time I got my cholesterol checked,” Avinash said. “I was dumbfounded for a moment. She told me her friend’s father who is actually 2 years younger than me just had a heart attack, it was absolutely heartbreaking to hear.”

“Yeah listening to this makes me realize how much we take our health for granted buddy,” Prakash replied. The two friends nodded in agreement and vowed to start living healthier and adopt better habits not only for themselves but for the love they have for their friends and family. As fathers, we are so busy with the day to day jostles of everyday life and trying to maintain a balance between work and family that we often forget to give any time to our own wellbeing and health. Prioritizing some time for your health is critical to ensuring that you can always be around for your family and loved ones and take care of them. Here are some steps you too can undertake as a father so that you are always available and present for your child and your family:

Invest in downtime

Stress can gravely affect various aspects of your life, including your emotions, energy, behaviour, ability as well as your physical health. If you are constantly putting your energy into things such as work, traveling, social life, community, you will end up burning out. In fact, constant chronic stress can cause mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, personal disorders, cardiovascular diseases, including high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms amongst countless others. Whether you have a desk job, a physically taxing job or are simply a stay at home father, you need to spend some downtime taking care of yourself. Whether you simply enjoy reading a book, or listening to music or meditating, spend some time with yourself relaxing and rejuvenating to ensure your mental health is on track.

Make your physical fitness a priority

We often forget that being a father is also physically taxing in your life. In order to keep up with our ultra-energetic children, not to mention the additional errands we have to run and housework we have to undertake, we have to stay physically at the top of our game. So in order to improve our physical health, we need to focus on improving engaging in some physical activity that will improve our long term fitness in a sustainable manner. If you are a fitness rookie, start off with simple exercises at home. Anything from taking a walk in the park next to your house or joining a yoga class can be the start of your fitness journey and help you be an active father.

Invest in a child investment plan

While nobody wants to think about it, the reality is that life is unpredictable and we may not always be around to take care of our children and their hopes and dreams. In such a case a child investment plan , which is a combination investment plan is the prime way to secure your child’s future. In case of your accidental demise, such plans ensure your child’s future is secure while also building up a corpus which can be used to finance turning points in their lives. Most such plans provide a policy premium waiver to a child, giving them a lump sum amount after the death of the parent. The company continues to invest money on behalf of the policyholder after the death of the parent, ensuring that no matter what, your child’s dreams and future is bright and secured. Ensuring that no matter what happens, your child’s future will be safe and protected is a key step you can take as a father.

Spend more quality time with your family

As cliche as it may sound, the key to a healthier family is a happier family. Ensuring that you spend time with your kids and wife actively is critical in this digital age, where a family can spend hours in a room together without even looking up from their smartphone screens. Do something engaging with your family where you get to know each other better, spend time with each other while being away from technology and computers. Perhaps have a picnic in the park or take a trip to a remote place or simply have a board game night at home.

As fathers, we have so much responsibility on our shoulders that we often forget that our health and wellbeing is not only important for us, but also for our loved ones. If we want to be more active and engaging in the lives of our children, we can only do so if we feel and look our best. Being tired and lethargic all the time will not help you be the best version of yourself. Adopting these simple tips will help you embark on your own health journey and help you be a better version of yourself around those you care about the most.