In the 1950s, when mothers insisted their children “get outside and play” it was mostly a reason to give mom a chance to finish her laundry list of chores for the day.

Of course, she knew spending hours outside was certainly no punishment, and back then, no reason to worry.

But educational value from playing in the dirt with the neighbor kid? That was never a thought.

Until at least two decades later, anyway.

What started out as a growing awareness in the 1970s that children’s playtime had real value in their emotional, social and intellectual development has evolved into everything from suburban playmates to a highly competitive industry in large metro areas.

Among the most popular movements around the country is the playgroup, where moms (and sometimes dads) and little ones get together with others to visit kid-friendly art and music programs, picnic at parks or just play together in a member’s back yard. The idea is to build children’s social skills and confidence and expose them to new things, and to give mommy someone to talk to who knows exactly where’s she coming from.

In general, a playgroup is organized by a mom that recruits other moms with young children via Web sites or social organizations and outlines an agenda. Fees are generally minimal, ranging from $5 to $45 a year, as are membership numbers — some groups have 25 members while others have 200.

Of course there are many variations of playgroups — some are very organized and offer structured learning activities several times a week, others meet at someone’s house or a park for free time for an hour each week, some are church-based, others are just for stay-at-home moms or only working parents or even more specific, such as families that practice a holistic lifestyle.

New Albany-based Teeter Toddlers, for example, meets for 90 minutes twice a week, once at St. John's Presbyterian Church and another time out for a field trip, like a trip to a local park or fire station. The 40 or so members also host three family parties a year and deliver meals to new moms in the group, according to the group’s outreach coordinator Lisa Mascio-Thompson, who also belongs to a Louisville playgroup.

Teeter-Toddlers, a non-denominational group, is currently the only known formal playgroup based in Floyd and Clark counties.

Instead, several Southern Indiana moms belong to one of the largest playgroups in the region, the Louisville Hip Mama’s Meetup Group. With about 180 members made up of stay-at-home moms, work from home parents and working moms, the group’s calendar stays full, ranging from visits to the Louisville Zoo, Gymboree class and swimming trips to organized weekly walking groups, Easter egg dyeing events and occasional mom’s nights out.

One of the group’s recent events included a Final Four basketball party at member Megan McCarthy’s Clarksville home. With Indiana members hailing from Floyd’s Knob, New Albany, Jeffersonville, Greenville, Corydon and even Fort Wayne, the Hip Mamas plan visits in Indiana as well, such as the upcoming visit to Huber’s farm for berry picking and the petting zoo.

Holly Contreras was living in Fort Wayne with a 6-month-old and a husband that traveled frequently when she decided it was time to look for like-minded moms.

At a playground, she met a mom who told her about a playgroup. “It was my saving grace. My husband traveled a lot so most of my adult interaction was talking to the checkout lady at Meijer’s,” she said.

Still, it took awhile to find a group she and her son Cameron — and their schedules — clicked with. Once she did she spent the next 2 _ years enjoying new friends for both her and her son.