Thousands of families in New Zealand own and run small businesses. Here are some of their youngest members.

All photos by Julie Zhu.

Some kids spend their evenings and weekends at home watching TV or doing homework. Others play a lot of sport or have a creative hobby. These kids may do those things too but they have another major life commitment: helping out at their family business. Whether it’s slinging doughnuts at an Auckland night market, scanning the walls of polish lining their mum’s nail salon, or serving hungry customers, takeout kids have a unique upbringing that intimately mixes family life with work ethic.

Meet the stars of Takeout Kids season two.

Priyan Patel (5), Sandringham Bulk Foods and Rocky’s Superette, Auckland 

Priyan lives in Sandringham, above one of the shops his parents own. At Rocky’s Superette, Priyan helps out by restocking the drinks fridges and letting his parents and uncle know when customers have arrived. He’s also just started school, and is learning a lot of new skills, some of which he enjoys a lot less than helping out at the Superette.

Priyan features in episode one of Takeout Kids.

Dominic Sinthupan (13), Thai Delight Restaurant and The Mira Restaurant, Taupō

Dom lives with his mum, Pim, in Taupō and helps her with her Thai restaurant, Thai Delight and The Mira. He serves customers and does the shopping alongside his life of basketball, golf and navigating his relationship with his dad.

Dom features in episode two of Takeout Kids (airing August 27).

Lauren Shaw (16), Tanz KTCHN, Auckland 

Lauren lives with her parents and two sisters. By night, she fries doughnuts and works through the mountain of orders at Tanz KTCHN at the Auckland night markets. By day, she sleepily studies for her driving test and ponders her future – whether that’s within the family business or further afield.

Lauren features in episode three of Takeout Kids (airing September 3).

Phitcha Namkam (13), La Thai Restaurant, Akaroa

Phitcha grew up in Thailand and now lives in the small town of Akaroa, where she goes to school and works at her family’s Thai restaurant every weekend. She serves customers the food that her dad cooks in the restaurant kitchen and every week, her extended Thai family comes to the restaurant for karaoke.

Phitcha features in episode four of Takeout Kids (airing September 10).

Kyla Dang (7), City Nails, Whakatāne

Kyla is a confident helper at her mum’s nail salon in Whakatāne, along with her sister Kylee. Kyla does her Vietnamese homework at the salon and shares her pepeha with customers. At school, she deals with crushes and schoolyard rumours for the first time.

Kyla features in episode five of Takeout Kids (airing September 17).

Takeout Kids season two is made with the support of NZ On Air.