Talking about the physical and emotional changes of puberty can be tricky for parents and preteen girls. While the subject is important, tackling it can be challenging, complicated and well, downright awkward.

National speaker and author Julie Metzger is coming to Bend to help parents and girls open up about topics related to puberty. The two-part series starts April 12 (see “If you go”). She is a registered nurse who has been teaching classes like this for 25 years. The event, called “For Girls Only — A Heart to Heart Talk About Growing Up,” is sponsored by Central Oregon Pediatric Associates.

Parents should attend both sessions along with their daughters. The event is geared toward girls age 10 to 12, or in fourth to sixth grade. Topics will include social issues and sexuality, as well as developmental and emotional changes during adolescence and how parents and girls can navigate these changes.

Metzger is excited to bring the class to Bend. “It’s an opportunity to sit together in a very fun, humorous, entertaining, interactive and informative way.” She says many parents and girls feel the subject matter is scary, serious, intimidating and gross. This class “lays this framework and demystifies some of the conversation.

“People cry. People crack up,” Metzger said.

Metzger designed the class in 1988 after working with teens and their parents as a nurse and then studying issues related to puberty and adolescence in graduate school. She began teaching the class in Seattle in the 1990s, as part of Seattle Children’s Hospital. Now Metzger says she and her colleagues with the group Great Conversations teach the classes to 10,000 people a year both in Seattle and through Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif.

Metzger, along with Dr. Robert Lehman, recently wrote the book that will be given away at the class, “Will Puberty Last My Whole Life?: Real Answers to Real Questions from Pre-teens About Body Changes, Sex, and Other Growing-Up Stuff.”

Some parents are not sure how to start talking about puberty, or had negative experiences in their own lives. “People want it to go well for their kids and it almost paralyzes them,” Metzger said.

The goal of this class is to make the conversations easier and more accessible.

Among other subjects, the class will delve into topics such as moods, sleep, acne, feelings and sexual reproduction.

Families can have a wide range of views when it comes to certain aspects of girls’ development, including sexuality. Metzger says this class recognizes that and believes that it is a good starting ground for families of all backgrounds. She imagines parents leaving the class and saying, “Well, that was a good start, here’s what our family believes.”

Another benefit of the class, according to Metzger, is that girls and moms are attending together, which puts them on the same page. Moms (or dads) may think: “I know what they’ve heard and now I can add on.” Meanwhile, girls may think: “My Mom knows what I know and now I can ask her more information.”

“It gives them a mutual starting place,” Metzger said.

She says she receives emails and letters from parents who say that the class was transformative for them or “changed our entire relationship.”

Dr. Kim Wollmuth with COPA was the leading force behind bringing Metzger to town. A friend had mentioned hearing about her presentation and thought it sounded like a good thing to bring here. Wollmuth hopes the weekend event will turn into “a bonding time for moms and daughters.”

“By starting these conversations when girls are preteens, we are laying the foundation for continued open communication in the years to come,” said Wollmuth.

She said she and other local pediatricians are impressed with the sex education programs available in local schools. But this event is something different.

“The ‘For Girls Only’ program should be considered a nice complement to the school-based programs. It differs in that it offers the chance for parents to be present and part of the dialogue, too,” said Wollmuth.

She says, if this class is successful, she would like to bring a similar class to town focused on puberty and boys.

If you go

What: “For Girls Only — Heart to Heart Talk About Growing Up”; for girls age 10-12 and their parents.

When: 7 to 9 p.m. April 12 and 10 a.m. to noon April 13 (participants attend both sessions)

Where: St. Charles Bend event center, Rooms A-D

Cost: $50 per adult/child pair; includes snacks and a book

Contact: www.copa kids.com/events