Kiwi dads short-changed when it comes to Father's Day

The best Father's Day present for dads of very young children is likely to be a sleep-in. Photo / Getty Images

Figures released by Statistics New Zealand show there are a few extra reasons to spoil your dad this Father's Day.

When it comes to being thanked for the role they play it seems Kiwi dads get a bit of a rough deal.

Men generally start parenting later in life and women have longer life spans, which means dads have, on average, seven fewer Father's Days than mothers have Mother's Days.

The statistics also reveal that fathers of children who are less than a year old get 42 minutes' less sleep a night than the average of 8.5 hours.

Over the course of a year that's a week-and-a-half's worth of kip dads are missing out on.

The modern celebration of Father's Day originated in the USA at the turn of the last century.

It is held in September in New Zealand and Australia but in many northern hemisphere countries it falls in June.

More New Zealand Father's Day statistics:

* A new baby was last year's Father's Day present for 143 men.
* The average age of fathers of new babies is 33.
* One in 100 babies has a father aged 50 or older.
* More than a quarter (28 per cent) of babies born in New Zealand last year were to fathers who were not themselves born in New Zealand.
* Fathers of newborn babies today are, on average, four years older than their own fathers were when they were born.

- NZ HERALD STAFF