Child Suffers Lip Wound After Falling Between Upper Bunk and Wall at Lempäälä Daycare

YLE reports a four-year-old child fell into the gap between a closet bed and the wall at Kuokkalankulma daycare in Lempäälä on Thursday, but did not suffer serious injuries.

According to a message Lempäälä municipality sent to parents, the child slipped from an upper bed into the space while a staff member was lifting beds after rest time and was wrapped in a thick blanket, so the worker did not notice. The child suffered only a cut to the lip and did not need to be taken to a doctor. The municipality confirmed the incident to YLE and says the case has been reviewed with the child’s guardians, the staff involved and the unit manager.

Acting head of early childhood education Katri Auvinen said the incident is not linked to the bed model and that no manufacturer details can be provided. The municipality’s review found that staff did not follow the agreed instruction, which reads, "Before lifting, ensure there is no child in the bed." Lempäälä says it will tighten nap-room safety instructions and treats the matter very seriously. YLE notes the report comes after a fatal March accident in Vantaa and amid wider city-level reviews: Vantaa removed risky units from its more than 6,000 closet beds, Helsinki is phasing out all closet beds in favour of mattresses and sofa beds, and Tampere has announced replacements in three daycare centres; Pirkanmaa recorded two non-serious similar incidents last year.