Stories have surfaced 18-year-old Sean Preston and 17-year-old Jayden James have seen their mom and have been communicating for months. Sources with direct knowledge beg to differ.

We're told the kids have had one convo with Britney -- on Mother's Day, but that's it. As for Britney visiting her kids when she traveled to Hawaii several times this year ... we're told that's not true -- the kids have not seen her for nearly 3 years.

Our sources say the kids have not permanently ruled out a reconciliation, but, as one source put it ... "Years of aberrant behavior and troubling conduct can't be easily erased." The source adds, "There's no evidence things have gotten better."

As for Kevin, we're told he has no objection to his kids re-establishing a relationship with their mom when the time is right, but he gets why they're not ready to do it.