The director of a suicide prevention service in Fiji said the death of a seven year old highlights the need for changes to educational programmes.

Photo: 123RF

The Fiji police have appealed to parents to ensure their children are safe during the school holidays after the deaths of four children last week.

Two of the children, aged 16 and seven, committed suicide.

Lifeline's Archana Mani says the death of the seven year old girl marks the youngest case on record.

Ms Mani says parents need to communicate more with their children and watch for changes in personality.

She also says suicide prevention programmes need to drastically change.

"All the awareness programmes need to be revamped and turned into child-sensitive programmes, shifting the conversations around the methods of completing suicide to turning it into more about seeking help, communicating these sorts of messages in child-friendly languages as opposed to jargon which actually creates curiosity, as opposed to empowering young kids."