Alice Ferguson

Co-founder of @playingout movement. Not active on here now. Find me here instead:

[Alice Ferguson @aliceplayingout]

I loved Twitter and the connections I’ve made on it, but I can’t stay here now. Please come to https://t.co/t1hs7ff4XT - it’s a better place.

[Alice Ferguson @aliceplayingout]

@FCDOGovUK @DavidLammy British citizens taking aid to children have been illegally abducted. Please act now to release them, end the siege and ensure life-saving aid can reach the children of Gaza.

[Freedom Flotilla Coalition @GazaFFlotilla]

‘Handala’ was illegally boarded by Israel military in international waters, around 40 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza.

Before interception the 21 crew made this statement: if attacked they will join the global hunger strike for Gaza.

Call your governments now and hold them to account. Demand an end their complicity in Israel’s war crimes and genocide & an immediate release of all ‘Handala’ crew members.

[Alice Ferguson @aliceplayingout]

@CyclingInASkirt Oh, so sorry and shocked to see this very sad news. I didn’t know her name until now but absolutely loved her attitude. RIP Helen ❤️

[Playing Out @playingout]

It was wonderful to hear @IanByrneMP talking about the importance of playing out yesterday. "Looking back, we realised how lucky we were. We didn't have two ha'pennies to rub together but we had freedom and green spaces, and we were healthy, and I absolutely adored it". 🙏

[Playing Out @playingout]

We’re on our way to the House of Lords to help launch this crucial report. A huge opportunity for Govt to turn the child health crisis around by creating environments that enable them to be outside near home - active, happy and part of their communities.

[Alice Ferguson @aliceplayingout]

I’d love to stay connected with all the great people I’ve met on here. Please come to Bluesky with me (or find me on there!)

[Alice Ferguson @aliceplayingout]

@lordclifton2 @char1iewatts How dare you

[Alice Ferguson @aliceplayingout]

@JaneyGodley @UofGlasgow Yay! Thank you for the laughs and the tears Dr Godley xxx

[Alice Ferguson @aliceplayingout]

@BigP4P4Smurf That’s so sad. Just going to push back on the idea it was partly the kid’s fault though. Can it ever be the “fault” of a child, whose brain is not fully developed? It’s for adults to create a safe environment where children won’t be killed simply for behaving like children.

[Alice Ferguson @aliceplayingout]

It’s not the scrapes, bumps and bruises from risky play that most parents are concerned about. It’s the very real danger of being hit and killed by a car. That’s what’s stopping children from having the freedom, adventure and free play they once had (and still need).

[Jonathan Haidt @JonHaidt]

Before the 1990s, kids experienced more risk, more thrills, more physical injuries, and fewer psychological injuries than they do today. Kids had more freedom to make mistakes and learn from them. We have forgotten that kids are antifragile.

[Alice Ferguson @aliceplayingout]

@char1iewatts Wow!!

[Alice Ferguson @aliceplayingout]

@cyc1one1000 @jb_andreas @shimself Agreed. It does need more research.

[Alice Ferguson @aliceplayingout]

@nicolawriting @Right_2Roam Would Pippa want her young children to have to walk along the A-road? I doubt it. No parent would.

[Alice Ferguson @aliceplayingout]

@cyc1one1000 @BebbMalcolm Experiencing the everyday reality of the roads where we lived. Volume and speed too high for kids to negotiate. Dangerous, distracted driving. Cars parked across junctions. No visibility from child height. Vehicles swinging around wide corners. Lack of safe crossings. Etc etc.

[Alice Ferguson @aliceplayingout]

@BebbMalcolm @cyc1one1000 Yes - it showed us what was possible. If only we (and those in power) had seized the moment to make some of those positive side-effects more permanent.

[Alice Ferguson @aliceplayingout]

@cyc1one1000 Thanks Steve. It’s a very common assumption!

[Alice Ferguson @aliceplayingout]

@cyc1one1000 @BebbMalcolm There has been a strong trend over the past 50yrs towards children having less freedom to roam, playing out less and travelling independently to school far less - with massive health implications. There are of course variations within that but the overall point is still true.

[Alice Ferguson @aliceplayingout]

@cyc1one1000 The stats (of child pedestrian KSI and children’s loss of independent mobility and outdoor play) definitely do correlate. Good question about graph. If there’s not one I’ll try to make one!

[Alice Ferguson @aliceplayingout]

@cyc1one1000 Strong disagree. KSI stats are not an objective measure of danger. If no children ever went outside KSIs on roads would be zero.

[Alice Ferguson @aliceplayingout]

@cyc1one1000 It’s a very real danger. There’s no evidence that roads have become objectively safer and a strong argument to say the main reason KSIs have fallen is that children are outside - especially independently - far less than they were.

[Alice Ferguson @aliceplayingout]

@cyc1one1000 @BebbMalcolm Think it depends where you lived. Playing out culture carried on longer in some communities (and still exists to this day where the conditions are right!)