Death of a child in a daycare centre in Pyhäjokion 1 April 2025

The Safety Investigation Authority, Finland conducted a preliminary investigation into an incident in Pyhäjoki on 1 April 2025 involving the death of a child while in daycare in a daycare centre. The child was napping outside in a pram as usual. Approximately three hours later, a childcare worker found the child lifeless in the pram. Despite resuscitation, the child died.

EVENTS
The childcare worker put the child in a pram outside for a nap at approximately 10:00–10:10. The pram was placed under a window. A pram cover prevented visibility inside the pram. There was no baby monitor in the pram or video surveillance outside. The child’s safety was monitored from the inside by observing and listening from a window and keeping an eye on pram movements. The child’s condition was not checked during the nap. No adults or other children were spending time outdoors during the time the child was napping.

The childcare worker found the child lifeless in the pram at 13:15 and asked the other childcare workers for assistance. The Emergency Response Centre received a notification of the lifeless child at 13:19. The dispatch was assessed as an urgent emergency task. The staff resuscitated the child following instructions received from the Emergency Response Centre. The first unit arrived on site at 13:36. Resuscitation efforts were deemed unsuccessful and terminated at 13:38. Crisis assistance was organised for the staff on the same day. The next day, the incident was discussed at the daycare centre with the children and their families.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The municipality of Pyhäjoki organises early childhood education activities in the daycare centre in question in accordance with the Act on Early Childhood Education and Care (540/2018). In recent years, turnover rates have been high in early childhood education and care management. The municipality has the duty to organise early childhood education and care in the scope and types of activity that meet the needs of the municipality. Overall planning, steering and supervision of early childhood education and care are the responsibility of the Ministry of Education and Culture. Regional planning, steering and supervision of early childhood education and care are the responsibility of Regional State Administrative Agencies. The Finnish National Agency for Education acts as the expert agency in early childhood education and care.

The daycare centre was caring for children aged between 0 and 5. Nothing out of the ordinary occurred during the day. The victim was the youngest in the child group and had started in the daycare centre a few months earlier. According to the municipality, the daycare centre had adequate staffing in relation to the number of children on the day of the incident. In addition, there was one trainee working at the daycare centre. The personnel had received up to date first aid training.

At the time of the incident, the weather was clear, and the temperature was approximately +1 degrees, with a wind speed of 5-6 m/s. The child was dressed in weather-appropriate clothing and was in a pram sleeping bag suitable for sleeping outdoors. The child was given infant formula from a bottle before falling asleep. Once the child had fallen asleep, the child was left napping in the pram outside.

OBSERVATIONS
The child napping outside was found lifeless in the pram after naptime. Despite resuscitation, the child died. According to preliminary forensic findings, the child had no signs of external injuries.

Letting babies nap outside has been commonly recognised as healthy for the child, and the practice has long traditions in Finland. There are no nationally uniform instructions for letting children nap outside in early childhood education and care. The early childhood education and care services in the municipality of Pyhäjoki have had a common principle that small children may nap outside, and this has been agreed upon together with the child’s guardians. There are no updated safety instructions or separate instructions for monitoring and ensuring the safety of a child sleeping outside in a pram.

Ensuring the safety of a child sleeping outdoors is always dependent on adults. Baby monitors can also be used to support the monitoring.

In March 2025, the municipality of Pyhäjoki organised a development day for early childhood education and care on the theme of safety. Measures to promote the safety of early childhood education and care were agreed upon and launched in this context, including measures related to how to act if a child goes missing and the safety of outdoor areas.

After the incident, the municipality of Pyhäjoki has given an order to daycare centres to not let children sleep outside. The daycare centres have also been instructed to have an adult constantly present with children sleeping indoors. The municipality has also started updating the guidelines for managing crises in daycare centres.

The early childhood education and care provider and the daycare centre staff are responsible for the overall safety of children in daycare. The early childhood education and care provider is responsible for issuing sufficient safety instructions for each specific daycare centre. The daycare centre is responsible for fostering a healthy and safe environment for early childhood education and care with regard to the children’s age, development and other abilities. Each daycare centre should ensure that the agreed practices and operating methods support the overall safety of children in all situations.

After a crisis in a daycare centre, it is important that the aftercare measures involve taking into account not only the affected family and daycare staff but also offering sufficient psychosocial support to other children present during the incident as well as their families.

In 2014, the Safety Investigation Authority published a themed investigation on the deaths of children. During the investigation period, there were no deaths of children in a daycare centre. According to Statistics Finland, in 2023, the number of children who died before the age of one was 76, which is the lowest number in more than 30 years.¹

Based on the preliminary investigation, the Safety Investigation Authority, Finland will not initiate a safety investigation into the matter. A safety investigation is not expected to provide additional information that would lead to substantial safety benefits.

More information:
Chief Safety Investigator, Dr. Hanna TIIRINKI, tel. +358 29 515 0747, [email protected]

¹ Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Deaths [online publication]. Reference date: 2023. ISSN=1798–2529. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [Referred to as: 14 April 2025]. Accessed at: https://stat.fi/julkaisu/cln4k0jlt3tb30avxpsbym2bh

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