R. Kikuo Johnson’s “A Mother’s Work”

Children growing up in the city are often especially fond of time spent at the playground. In many instances, the supervision of those precious moments of freedom is done not by their parents but by the women hired to watch over them and attend to their needs—women who may also have their own children to care for. For the cover of the September 9, 2024, issue, the cartoonist R. Kikuo Johnson chose to portray a scene that is both familiar and overlooked. “My wife and I became parents this year, so we’re just beginning to face the challenges of raising a kid while working in New York City,” Johnson said. “We interviewed a few nannies before realizing that we couldn’t afford one.”