Dad exercises and stops to draw breath? (6)
I believe the answer is:
pauses
'stops to draw breath?' is the definition.
'dad exercises' is the wordplay.
'dad' becomes 'pa' ('pa' can be a synonym of 'dad').
'exercises' becomes 'uses' ('use' can be a synonym of 'exercise').
'pa'+'uses'='PAUSES'
'and' is the link.
(Other definitions for pauses that I've seen before include "Brief interruptions" , "Stops or rests briefly" , "Short breaks in business" , "Short stops" , "Short silences" .)