Love is spelt T.I.M.E.

For all of us it is easy to understand the connection of love being related to time spent together. Just think back to the heady days of falling in love and the wanting to spend every minute together and time together being precious and special.

Think of our relationship with God our Father; He is always available, never too busy, always ready and willing to take the time to talk with us. All because He loves us deeply. Just as with married couples needing to spend time together one to one and the ongoing need to have "date nights" to keep our relationships healthy, so we need to spend similar time with our kids.
With younger children this might take the form of one to one play time, going to the park, playing imagination games, cooking together, etc. (I bought so many imaginary pets and then got them treated at the vets you wouldn't believe!)
With older children it takes the form of providing times to be able to talk together one to one. This may still be as part of an activity (kicking a footy, building something, cooking together, riding bikes, walking in nature) but is often facilitated by taking your child on a "date".

So what does kid date look like? Breakfast at McDonalds before school was Ps Jac's favourite, dating each of our children in turn week by week on a Wednesday. It may be going to a coffee shop you like or some other spot where you can take some time to sit and talk. As with adults, good food and something nice to drink always helps conversation.
The keys to making this time meaningful are for it to be all about your child. It must be one to one so that they know that you really "see" them and are listening only to them, that they are special in your eyes. Do something or take them somewhere they would enjoy (as kids get older being treated as "older" like going to a coffee shop is a big deal!). Talk about them and their life (don't talk about what YOU want them to do e.g.; homework, clean their room, apologize to Dad, etc.), this is their time so be interested in their life, let them guide the conversation.
If you don't know where to start then ask about; how they feel about school or life in general, who their friends are and why they like them, what do they dream about doing, what is their biggest worry at the moment, what is something they are really proud of? Once you and they get used to the conversation being allowed to be just about them it usually flows along OK. It can take some time before your kids will really trust that you don't have an underlying agenda, especially if they are older when you start, but persist.
Please believe me, when I speak from personal experience, that this approach to connecting with your kids can rebuild profoundly damaged relationships if you stick with it. Make it regular. Put it in your diary. Give it the priority it deserves.
You only get one chance at bringing up your kids and you can't go back to correct your mistakes you can only move forward from today.

So today, what is God speaking to you about your relationship with your kids and what are you going to do about it? Don't forget you are ready as you are, growing as you go. You can do this!