A three-year old was left distressed and crying after a babies' toy from a special needs Christmas party told him a story about suicidal bunny rabbits.

Many young children were given the same interactive toy at the Special Childrens Christmas Party held at Horncastle Arena in Christchurch on Saturday night. The party was for invited children with special needs or a serious illness, or who are under-privileged or have been exposed to domestic violence.

The three-year-old's mother, who did not want her name published, said the toy was given to her one-year-old daughter, who has Down Syndrome. Later her three-year-old son was in tears after hearing a suicide story told by the toy, which had been given out boxed and brand new.

The babies' storytelling toy which had a disturbing message.

She had spoken to several other parents with the toy from the party who discovered the same thing.

The story, read by a female voice while music plays, clearly says: "One day a group of rabbits . . threatened by people, dogs and eagles, their lives were full of danger and fear ... they decided to die because they didn't want to live in pain . . all the rabbits ran to the pond together to kill themselves ..."

The mother said her son was "very upset and confused".

"He said 'why are all the bunnies going to die?' ".

After listening to the toy, she removed it and told him the bunnies were fine and the toy was faulty.

The battery-powered colourful toy is called a Baby's Happy Time story machine. It does not carry a brand name but is made in China.

It has piano-type keys, buttons for a child to push to hear stories and music, and ties at the back which could attach it to a cot or playpen.

"Whoever made them has got a sick sense of humour or its a disgruntled employee. How could anyone think that was acceptable?" the mother said.

She told one of the organisers, who was shocked and very apologetic. She said she did not blame the organisers.

The event is run by Special Childrens Christmas Parties (N.Z.) Ltd. The parties have been run in new Zealand and Australia for 15 years, with sponsors including Sky, NZME, Christchurch Casino, New World and Heartland Bank.

Kayla Watts attended the party with her friend and their children and said her friend's 15-month-old daughter was also given the toy. The party was "great" but after being alerted to the story they listened to it, then removed the batteries and put the toy up high without the children hearing it.

"The message we got from it is: if you are suffering in life, just go and kill yourself. It was disgusting," Watts said.

Event organiser Mark Wikstrom said they were embarrassed and upset at what had happened, and only a very small percentage of toys were affected. The problem had already arisen at an Australian party, but they thought it was an isolated incident, he said.

They had sourced the toys directly from China, and the manufacturer said the rabbit story was a Chinese fable intended for another device. Anyone with an affected toy could contact them for a replacement, Wikstrom said.

"We are pretty gutted, but it's a fault by the manufacturer beyond our control. It's disappointing after we had such an awesome day."

The last party for the year will be in Auckland next weekend and they would be "going through all the toys very carefully," he said.