Taipei  - Fathers love their kids just as mothers do, but fathers only spend half as much time with their small children as mothers do, a survey showed on Saturday.

According to the Taipei Times, a survey by the Bureau of Health Promotion found that that mothers who don't work or work fewer hours tend to spend almost all their time with young children.

But fathers, whether they work or not, spend much less time with their children. Whether the fathers live in urban or rural areas makes no difference, the study showed.

The results come from a survey of parents caring for six-month-olds in 21,648 households between July 2005 and July 2006 and of parents caring for 18-month-olds in 20,559 households between July 2006 and July 2007.

According to the survey, mothers spent an average of 47 hours with six-month-old babies per week, and 49 hours with 18-month-old children per week, while fathers spent 24 hours a week with six-month-olds and 26 hours with 18-month-olds. (dpa)