Usher has toddlers and teens under one roof, with one kid ready to rule them all.

Appearing on the cover of this week’s issue of PEOPLE, Super Bowl halftime headliner says that of his four kids — son Sire Castrello, 2, and daughter Sovereign Bo, 3½, with wife Jennifer Goicoechea, and teens Naviyd Ely, 15, and Usher “Cinco” V, 16, whom he shares with his ex-wife, Tameka Foster — his daughter stands out from the pack.

“My three-nager is a cold whole trip, but she’s so loving and I don’t know why I named her Sovereign because she’s a dictator. I made her a dictator by way of trait of name,” the R&B singer, 45, laughs, adding, “Careful what you ask for because you’ll get it.”

“But if I’m asking for anything, it is that my children will grow to love each other, and there’s enough distance between the boys who are older and the babies to be able to cover each other and know that they are protective of one another, that they are willing to challenge each other, to really be the structure that I wish that I had at times,” the proud dad continues.

“I didn’t have older brothers or sisters. I’m the oldest of my sisters and my brother, but I figure it out every chance that I get.”

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Usher covers PEOPLE. See a Sweet Photo of Usher’s Kids in the Backseat During His Drive-Thru Las Vegas Wedding

The artist says that fatherhood has taught him, “Every situation presents a different direction.”

“You cannot handle your kids the same way. You have to make certain that they have their time and that you are sensitive to what they are saying or trying to say, and help them get to a place of being able to convey their emotions because that becomes trauma to them if they don’t get a chance to get out,” he says. “And maybe they didn’t mean to be as mean as they did or to be as out of pocket.”

Usher says his goal is always “to really be patient and talk through [things]” with his kids.

“You are going to have experiences that are going to be good, or they have experiences that are going to challenge you. You need to have somebody that’s going to try to have patience with you,” he says.

“It’s a pleasure because at 45 years old, I can still move. I can still run, I can still keep up with them. Skating is probably the thing that keeps me agile in that way, and it’s impressive to them. I’m still cool to them,” he shares before adding, “My older ones, I don’t know if I’m cool to them.”

Usher and family celebrate Christmas.

USHER/INSTAGRAM

The singer recently released his new video for his song “Ruin,” which features a cameo from Sovereign, who wears a pretty pink dress and plays with blocks on the floor with her dad.

In the video, the singer takes a look at his daughter’s SR initial necklace before scooping her up into his arms. As the video ends, he puts a princess tiara on her head.

“Daddy’s Little Girl 👸🏾 “Ruin” OUT NOW #COMINGHOME,” Usher wrote on Instagram alongside the video.

For more on Usher, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here.