Before, you could wing it. Before, you could white-knuckle it. You could stay up late. You could treat your body like a garbage can. You could ignore the check-engine light, literally and figuratively. You were young. You had energy. You could always just make it happen.

But now? Now that you have kids? Now that you are maturing…or at least older? Now it’s a whole different ballgame.

The actor John Leguizamo, now 65 years old, recently explained in an interview that “having kids makes you really aware of your environment. When you’re young and single, you don’t care. You’re indestructible.” Now, he says, he takes much better care of himself, opting for chemical-free and hormone-friendly toiletries, among other things. To do what he used to be able to do without thinking, he now has to do a lot more intentionally, proactively, and with preparation.

So it goes with us, too. Because our kids take a lot out of us…and are going to need us around for some time to come. We need to take care of ourselves so we can take care of them. There’s a reason a whole month in The Daily Dad book is dedicated to self-care (grab a signed leatherbound edition here)! It’s important. Really important.

To be able to do our jobs well, to be able to do the things we want and need to do, we’re going to need to be more intentional. What are we eating? Are we prioritizing sleep? (No more revenge bed-time procrastination!) What’s needlessly draining our energy? Where are we wasting time? What do we want to do more of for self-enjoyment? Are we exercising? Getting enough water?

It all matters so much more now.

P.S. The Daily Dad gives you access to this kind of parenting wisdom, one piece at a time and one day at a time. To order your copy of our special leatherbound edition, which preserves this parenting advice to stand the test of time, head over to dailydad.com/leather today!