Average Aussie dad too busy to care for kids

A father plays with his son at a swimming pool in Shanghai July 30, 2006.

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - Australian fathers spend just over an hour a day caring for or playing with their children, according to figures released by the statistics bureau ahead of Fathers' Day, which falls on Sunday.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed men living with children overwhelmingly perform the traditional role of breadwinner, spending an average of eight hours each week of "quality time" with their kids in 2006.

According to the figures, some 4.6 million men aged 18 and above reported having one or more children.

Of the 1.72 million fathers living with children aged 15 and under, 92 percent were employed, with 29 percent of those working 50 hours or more each week.

According to the figures, Australia is home to more than 4.5 million fathers.

ABS spokeswoman Heather Crawford said more men were becoming stepfathers and many don't live with their kids at all, debunking the image of the typical Australian father having two kids with one life partner.

"Apart from the notion of a biological father, there are men performing father roles in a variety of circumstances," Crawford told Australian media.

(Writing by Miral Fahmy; Editing by Paul Tait)