It is probably every parent's worst nightmare.
A phone call late at night to inform them that their offspring is in a critical condition in hospital. But for a Table View couple the shock was far greater when they heard their 13-year-old son was in hospital recovering from a severe bout of alcohol poisoning.
Like many parents across the Cape Peninsula regularly do, the couple had dropped off their son at a local mall where young people regularly congregate to watch movies or socialise with friends.
In this case, the primary school pupil apparently bought a bottle of vodka from a shebeen run from the back room of a municipal facility. The boy drank most of the bottle and it was only when he went into convulsions and turned blue in the face that friends phoned the ambulance services.
The incident has again highlighted the fact that many young people simply use visits to the mall as a springboard to private parties, buying alcohol from shebeens run from houses in their suburbs.
"Mall ratting", a phrase coined by parents who let their children spend hours on their own socialising at shopping arcades, is in itself an innocent pastime.
Many parents believe shopping malls, with their normally tight security including guard patrols and closed circuit television and the presence of adults, produce a safe environment for children to socialise unsupervised.
But they are blissfully unaware that some children simply use malls as a cover to go clubbing, visit friends or boyfriends, or do other things which they would normally not have been allowed to do. The availability of drugs and booze further exacerbates the situation.
Vanessa Herbst, public relations manager of Canal Walk shopping centre, said the mall had many educational and entertainment facilities for youngsters.
"Children are a major priority at Canal Walk. In addition to the fun activity programmes presented by Canal Walk during school holidays, the number of security guards and undercover surveillance guards is increased extensively," Herbst said.
"Guards are also concentrated in areas that are most popular with children. Canal Walk has a strict 'no nonsense' policy when it comes to any anti-social behaviour exhibited by youngsters."
She said Canal Walk maintained strong relationships with the police involved in the safety and protection of children.
Cavendish Square's Mohamed Jusuf Patel said young people were "valued and welcome" visitors to the centre, but staff had noticed that some parents regularly dropped their children at the centre, under the impression that the young people were to spend the evening there.
"We have several night clubs and bars in close proximity to Cavendish where the children spend their time while their parents mistakenly believe they are in the centre," he said.
"Our management has also warned licensed restaurants, coffee shops and bars not to serve alcohol to under-aged youth."
Patel said Cavendish management monitored the children in the centre and had an open door for parents wanting to discuss problems.
"But we have difficulty dealing with those who believe the centre is at fault when it's the children who are at fault," he said.
Westgate Mall's Lamesa Modak said her centre management also kept an eye on children, and had to date not experienced major problems.
"We do lay on activities aimed at the youth, especially during school holidays to keep them occupied," Modak said.