Nick Cannon is continuing to publicly discuss his journey through mourning the loss of his 5-month-old son, Zen.
Zen Cannon, whom Nick shared with Alyssa Scott, died of high-grade glioma, a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer, on December 5. Days later, Nick shared the news on his talk show. He has expressed that working and sharing his journey publicly has been part of his healing.
Recently, Nick opened up about what it was like sharing the news of Zen's illness and death with his older children. In addition to Zen, Nick is father to 10-year-old twins Monroe and Moroccan, 4-year-old son Golden, nearly 1-year-old Powerful Queen, and 6-month-old twins Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir.
Of course, explaining a situation of this magnitude to children is difficult under any circumstances. Having to tell them that their sibling has died, however, is a whole other beast to tackle.
"Having to explain that to 10-year-olds (Moroccan and Monroe) and a 4-year-old (Golden) is pretty intense," Nick told People magazine.
Nick was surprised by the amount of support his children have provided him during this time.
"But their understanding and them being there for me probably helped me keep it together as well as really deal with it," Nick continued.
"Specifically, even, Roc and Roe. They were there for the entire journey."
Nick has been overwhelmed by the love and support his daughter Roe has given him in particular.
"My daughter, really, she's so in tune and in line and wise beyond her years," he says.
"I got a lot of therapists, but she's probably my best therapist."
"She keeps me in check," he continued.
"She's so pure and so honest. To be 10, she asks some really strong and powerful questions."
"Really, just it's all out of love," he added.
"She's my oldest child. Even though they're twins, she came out first and she lets everybody know it. She's helped me keep it strong."
Nick touched on the fact that he's received backlash for his unconventional family and that while he grapples with the big questions, too, he tries to keep everything in perspective.
"I'm a father, first and foremost. There's a lot of guilt that I feel and I talk about this in therapy all the time. It's rooted in not having enough time to spend with my loved ones, specifically my children, because I have a lot of children," he explained.
"I'm also spread so thin in my work because that's how I cope. That's how I deal with things. I have several jobs and several shows and movies and music, all that stuff. And I call myself a provider for many, but one thing no matter how much money I generate, one thing I can't generate is time."
"It's not about quantity, it's about quality. And it's really just having quality moments with my children, quality moments with my family," he continued.
"Had a lot of quality moments with Zen in his short time here. I always say time is a manmade thing, but love and energy is a godsend."
Nick was blessed to be able to have all of his children in one place at one time, in celebration of his grandmother's 80th birthday.
"In September, my grandmother had her 80th birthday in San Diego. That was the first time I got to have all my kids in the same place at one time. We rented out this whole space for my entire family to be there," he shared.
"Obviously I have a huge family. It was probably just one of those times that I'll never ever forget. It was so much love. That was probably one of the happiest moments even just my life, to be honest."
