The Children's House offers residential stays of varying lengths during informal care leave and for other short-term care needs. We also provide urgent short-term care and demanding multidisciplinary support services. Our aim is to support families in coping with everyday life and to promote the independence of young people.
You can apply for our services if:
- your child is a resident of Helsinki
- you are an informal caregiver or your child is a client of Disability Services.
Applications are submitted through the social worker in your child's or young person's service area. Contact details are available at hel.fi/social-work-for-people-with-disabilities.
Once you have received a service decision, we will arrange an introductory visit and schedule the residential stays with you.
This service is subject to a charge.
Contact information:
Our address is Humalistonkatu 4, 00250 Helsinki. We operate on floors 2-4 of the building.
Unit Manager Marjo Laukkanen
Tel. +358 40 669 4403
marjo.laukkanen@hel.fi
Best reached on weekdays from 9.00-14.00.
Senior Instructor Piia Nordström
Tel. +358 40 641 1453
piia.nordstrom@hel.fi
Best reached on weekdays from 9.00-14.00.
Nurse Satu Lumikari
Tel. +358 40 623 3586
satu.lumikari@hel.fi
Available Monday to Thursday from 9.00-14.00.
Children's House instructors
Tel. +358 40 726 4270
This number is available 24 hours a day. The best times to call are during the morning shift from 10.00-11.00 and the evening shift from 20.00-21.00.
Contact information
Information for children and young people
You can come stay at the Children’s House when your parent has a day off or when you need short-term care for another reason. While staying with us, you can also practise living independently – a helpful skill for the future when you move into a home of your own.
During your stay, you’ll have your own room where you can bring items that are important to you, such as toys or music equipment. We also have plenty of games and toys for you to use.
While you're staying with us, you won’t go to your regular daycare. If you’re in preschool or school, you’ll attend as usual.
We serve varied and tasty meals, and you’ll have the chance to try new foods if you want. Sometimes we also have treat days.
Our friendly instructors enjoy doing all kinds of fun activities with you. We play indoors and spend lots of time outdoors, so remember to pack suitable outdoor clothes.
Information for parents
The child’s parents can submit requests for residential periods to the senior instructor of the Children’s House. We plan each stay in collaboration with you, based on our discussions and the habits and routines form you have completed. We kindly ask you to update this form approximately once a year.
As a parent, you can submit requests for the scheduling of residential periods to the senior instructor. We will do our best to organise the stays according to your needs. Residential periods can be scheduled for both weekdays and weekends.
Stays begin at 14.00 on the day of arrival and end at 13.00 on the day of departure. On school days, however, your child may arrive directly from school, even if the school day ends before 14.00.
Children’s House Senior Instructor Piia Nordström
Telephone number: +358 40 6411453 (Link starts a phone call)
Email: pia.nordstrom@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program)
Residential period booking schedule
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Periods taking place in December, January and February
- You can present requests regarding periods taking place during these months until the end of September.
- We will do our best to take your requests into account in the planning process and present you with an offer for residential periods during the first week of October. The periods will be offered to you via Maisa or by letter.
- You will also receive an SMS reminder regarding booked periods a few days before they are scheduled to start.
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Periods taking place in March, April and May
- You can present requests regarding periods taking place during these months until the end of December.
- We will do our best to take your requests into account in the planning process and present you with an offer for residential periods during the first week of January. The periods will be offered to you via Maisa or by letter.
- You will also receive an SMS reminder regarding booked periods a few days before they are scheduled to start.
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Periods taking place in June, July and August
- You can present requests regarding periods taking place during these months until the end of March.
- We will do our best to take your requests into account in the planning process and present you with an offer for residential periods during the first week of April. The periods will be offered to you via Maisa or by letter.
- You will also receive an SMS reminder regarding booked periods a few days before they are scheduled to start.
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Periods taking place in September, October and November
- You can present requests regarding periods taking place during these months until the end of June.
- We will do our best to take your requests into account in the planning process and present you with an offer for residential periods during the first week of July. The periods will be offered to you via Maisa or by letter.
- You will also receive an SMS reminder regarding booked periods a few days before they are scheduled to start.
Please let us know in good time if you need to cancel a booked residential period. Cancellations should be reported to the senior instructor by calling +358 40 6411453(Link starts a phone call) . In the event of sudden illness, please contact the numbers of the Children's House instructors directly.
During your child’s stay, we provide varied and nutritious meals in line with dietary recommendations. We encourage children to try different foods and to practise eating meals together. Occasionally, we also have treat days.
We take all special diets and allergies into account. Please provide a medical certificate for any medically required diets or allergies. No certificate is needed for a vegetarian or vegan diet. If your child has specific wishes regarding food, we will do our best to accommodate them when placing food orders. You can include this information in the habits and routines form, which we ask you to update approximately once a year.
The unit has shared iPads and toys that children can use together with our instructors.
We aim to spend plenty of time outdoors, so it is important that your child has suitable outdoor clothing. Laundry and clothing care are primarily the family’s responsibility, but we will take care of any laundry required due to accidents or other exceptional situations. Please make sure your child’s clothes are labelled with their name to avoid mix-ups.
At the end of each stay, we will pack all of your child’s belongings to take back home. We will also provide a list of the items your child brought with them.
We provide all necessary sanitary items, including toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, soap and moisturising cream.
Please always inform our unit’s nurse of any changes to your child’s medication. This ensures that we receive up-to-date information. However, we will always compare the medication list provided by the family with the list in the Apotti system and contact you if there are any discrepancies.
The Children’s House is staffed by professionals in social welfare, health care and education. We work in close cooperation with your family and other support networks, always with a client-oriented approach.
Our staff are on-site around the clock. However, the best times to reach us by phone are during the morning shift from 10.00–11.00 and the evening shift from 20.00–21.00.
You can contact our instructors by calling +358 40 7264270(Link starts a phone call) . You are also welcome to leave a call request for the staff member working with your child.