Robin L Marshall/Getty Nick Cannon is standing behind his parenting choices TheWild N' Outcreator tells PEOPLE exclusively that "the proof is in the pudding" when it comes to his decisions as a parent Cannon first became a father in April 2011 with the birth of his twins Moroccan and Monroe with then-wife Mariah Carey Nick Cannonstands behind all of his decisions, especially when it comes to parenting. While speaking with PEOPLE at ESSENCE Festival of Culture about his podcastWe Playin' Spadespresented by Amazon and Wondery, theDrumlinealum, 44, opened up about his "nontraditional, unorthodox" life as a dad of 12. Cannon, who shares his children with six different women, tells PEOPLE that he loves his children unconditionally and "there's nothing more important" to him than them. "I love my kids unconditionally, and there's nothing more important than my children, so it's a learning lesson of love for me every single day," he tells PEOPLE. "The number one thing is just to be present and to be able to say, 'Hey, I'm here, we're growing together.' " "But also to put a different face on the fatherhood, too, because you see it in so many different ways now that you didn't see before," he continues. "You can be present and you can have multiple relationships. We're getting so many different flavors of how fatherhood can look." Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Robin L Marshall/Getty Cannon is a proud father of 12. He shares twins Moroccan and Monroe with ex-wifeMariah Carey; sonsGolden SagonandRise Messiah Cannonand daughterPowerful QueenwithBrittany Bell; twinsZion Mixolydian and Zillion Heirand daughterBeautiful ZeppelinwithAbby De La Rosa; sonLegendary LovewithBre Tiesi; and daughterOnyx Ice ColewithLaNisha Cole. Cannon is father to two children withAlyssa Scott— sonZen, whodiedat five months old in December 2021 after being diagnosed with brain cancer, and daughterHalo Marie Cannon born on Dec. 14, 2022. The actor and comedian adds that his children are growing up "surrounded with love," despite what the public thinks about his "nontraditional" parenting style. "I always tell everybody it's the proof is in the pudding, so we're gonna see," he says. "As these children grow up and they're surrounded with love, all I can do is pray that they can have an open and loving life because they see what that is in a very, like you said, non-traditional, unorthodox way, but it's still filled with love." When asked if there's anything different about parenting single children versus multiple children, the host ofThe Masked Singernotes that his twins were born as "best friends." "Twins are best friends. Friends out the gate," he says. "They have a different understanding. They locked in together and it's actually like once they get to a certain age, they always got a companion, so it's kind of cool." "They can ... parent each other, but they have that built in like a strong balance that they got going to where they'll check each other," he adds. "They'll embrace each other and they [will] be down for each other like no other sibling or family infrastructure." Robin L Marshall/Getty The PEOPLE Appis now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! While speaking with PEOPLE in March, Cannon opened up about comments he made on a recent episode of theWe Playin' Spadespodcast about not being ready torule out the possibilityof having kids in the future. With his comments having now gone viral, Cannon told PEOPLE that he received a call from his grandmother, asking if he had another child. "My grandmother called me last night, like 'Another One!' I was like, 'Calm down,' " he recalled. The actor explained that while he's "not against it," he won't be welcoming any little ones anytime soon. "I really don't know. I'm being honest. I'm having so much fun in this space right now, and the way my bank account is set up, I'm going to press hold on this 12 for right now," he said. "But. I was just speaking of three years from now [or] five years from now, who knows? I'm not against it." "There was a point in time where I was just like, 'Nah, I'm done.' And, then I was like, 'Who am I to say that?' " he added. "It seemed like it was such an emphatic thing. I never imagined that I would have 12 kids. So, it's one of those things where I love children. I love my life, and if it could keep going in the direction that it's going, why not?" Read the original article onPeople