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A very easy and very effective way to spend more and better time with your children

Many parents today are fixated on bringing their resources to bear on the interests of their children. This isn't what God does. He tries very hard to persuade us to adopt his interests, because he knows that his interests yield far more joy than what we naturally desire. He calls us to take his purpose upon ourselves, and it is only when we do so that we encounter his full resources.

Some parents make their purpose to satisfy the desires of their children. This doesn't achieve the purposes they seek in it, and just leads to misery.

A better way is to first become a person worthy of emulation by taking upon yourself God's knowledge, motives, purpose, etc., and to do what you can to help your children to take upon themselves your knowledge, motives, purpose, etc.

Minimize how much of your time you spend shuttling your kids off to spend time with others, and maximize how much of your time you spend with them yourself. 

Don't succumb to the temptation to spend that time in mere recreation. Note how the Lord prioritizes the flow of information in his time with us. We ought to do the same with our kids.

That might seem like a tall order. It need not be.

To the extent you have an idea of how God is, that idea will suggest to you what he would spend his time doing in your shoes. Your understanding of God will yield a never-ending to-do list of improvements in yourself, your environment, others, and the world.

As you prioritize and execute that list, you'll know what you ought to spend your next moment on.

As you execute what you believe God would do in your place, bring a kid with you. Get out there and get to work, and make sure your kids are working, too. Whenever possible, use the time to teach them how to do it rather than having them watch you do it.

The younger you start doing this, the easier it will be for them to see the value in it. The more time they've spent in the quick and easy counterfeit value of modern pastimes, the harder it will be for them to see the value in it.

Regardless, make the most of whatever time you have left with them. Help them to see the value in what you do, learn how to do it themselves, and learn more about you as they do.