News anchor Shawn Ching is leaving Hawaii News Now to spend more time with his wife and one-year-old son, he said in a letter posted on the TV station’s website.

Ching’s son, Eli, was born premature last year and his wife, Stephanie, experienced complications related to the early birth, the letter said.

“Our son’s birth changed everything. It opened up a completely new life for me, a life I’ve fallen in love with,” Ching said. “When you think about death — and are faced with the very real possibility of losing the ones you love — it changes how you think about your own life. Taking that fact to heart has brought a sense of clarity and energy to the present. I know I’ve got this one opportunity to be present at a time when I’m needed most.”

The longtime anchor who rejoined the TV station in November 2016 after a three-year break to be a lawyer is co-anchor of the 5 p.m. newscast with Stephanie Lum. Ching will return to practicing law.

“He’s been through a real ordeal with the birth of his son. We’ve lived through this with him,” HNN General Manager Rick Blangiardi told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “He has my complete respect and admiration for making this decision.”

Blangiardi, who posted Ching’s job nationally last Friday, said that he is looking to fill the position with someone with strong ties to Hawaii.