Aasif Mandvi Says Becoming a Father in His 50s Allowed Him to Be 'More Present and Ready'

Aasif Mandvi has no regrets about becoming a father in his 50s.

The actor and comedian recently joined Parents' We Are Family podcast, where he chatted about his son Ishan, whom he welcomed when he was 54 with wife Shaifali Puri. Mandvi shared that having a child later in life has allowed him to be more prepared for fatherhood.

"I had a child much later in life than my parents did and I feel like the pros and the cons of being an older parent are there but one of the things that I think has been good for me is I was finally ready to have a child," said Mandvi, now 55.

"I probably couldn't have had a child in my 20s and 30s. I think I was trying to figure out too much stuff," he added. "So I didn't have a child until I was in my 50s but I think that I am just so much more available and present and ready to do this."

Mandvi, who was raised by his grandmother, explained that his parents had him when they were young and not ready to raise him themselves. He recalled reconnecting with them as a toddler, sharing that he wouldn't want his own child to go through a similar situation.

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"I remember my grandmother being like, 'This is your mom,'" he said. "And I was like, 'Who is this woman?' And I remember her in a white sari and she's like kneeling down, she's reaching out for me and I'm hiding behind my grandmother, her sari, and being like, 'I don't want to go to this person, I don't know who she is.' I basically just forgot who my parents were."

"I'm very much aware of what happened to me psychologically and how it affected the rest of my life, in terms of being sent away from my mother and then being brought back to her and I think that those abandonment issues plagued me for most of my adult life," added the Evil star.

"For me, I'm very aware of raising [my son] with a deep sense of security around that and not wanting him to ever feel like we're not there for him. In a way that I maybe didn't have that sense of security."

Mandvi and Puri welcomed son Ishan at the beginning of the COVID pandemic on March 14, 2020, the couple told PEOPLE exclusively at the time.

"In these trying times we are so grateful for his safe arrival and his reminder of the tenacity of life and love, the strength of family and the inevitability of new beginnings. Please stay safe out there, we are all in this together and we will get through this together! Love, Aasif and Shaifali," the duo added.

The former Daily Show correspondent and Puri, a visiting scholar at New York University, tied the knot in Atlanta in 2017 after meeting in 2013.

"I'm most excited about sharing this incredible moment with so many family members and friends from all the different parts of my life," Mandvi told PEOPLE at the time of their wedding, which included an interfaith Hindu/Muslim ceremony. "I'm so honored they all showed up. After this many years, I think most people had given up on me ever tying the knot."

Mandvi added of Puri, "I could say that what I love about Shaifali is her passion, her intelligence, her beauty, and that would all be true, but what I love about the two of us together is how we continually push each other to become better partners and better people."

"She makes me a better version of me," he gushed, "and I hope I do the same for her, and I hope we never stop doing that and being that for each other."