Our Children, Ourselves

"Our Children, Ourselves"
Modern Family episode
Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) needs his moment after Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) tells him that he might have an 8 year old son
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 12
Directed by	Adam Shankman
Written by	Dan O'Shannon Bill Wrubel
Production code	2ARG10
Original air date	January 12, 2011
Guest appearance(s)
Mary Lynn Rajskub (Tracy) Stephnie Weir (Mrs. Hoffman) Adam Kulbersh (Mr. Hoffman) Mark Povinelli (Bobby) Ajay Mehta (Vish Patel) Anjali Bhimani (Nina Patel)
Season 2 episodes
2010–2011 "The Old Wagon" "The Kiss" "Earthquake" "Strangers on a Treadmill" "Unplugged" "Halloween" "Chirp" "Manny Get Your Gun" "Mother Tucker" "Dance Dance Revelation" "Slow Down Your Neighbors" "Our Children, Ourselves" "Caught in the Act" "Bixby's Back" "Princess Party" "Regrets Only" "Two Monkeys and a Panda" "Boys' Night" "The Musical Man" "Someone to Watch Over Lily" "Mother's Day" "Good Cop Bad Dog" "See You Next Fall" "The One That Got Away" ← Season 1 Season 3 →
Episode chronology
← Previous "Slow Down Your Neighbors" Next → "Caught in the Act"
List of Modern Family episodes

"Our Children, Ourselves" is the 12th episode of the second season of the American television comedy series, Modern Family and the 36th overall episode of the series. Executive producers Dan O'Shannon & Bill Wrubel wrote the episode, and Adam Shankman directed it. The episode originally aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States on January 12, 2011. It featured guest star Mary Lynn Rajskub as Mitchell's ex-girlfriend.

In this episode, the dedication of Alex to learning makes Phil and Claire question themselves. Gloria tries to meet new friends. Mitchell runs into an ex-girlfriend while out with his current boyfriend, Cameron.

"Our Children, Ourselves" received generally positive reviews from television critics with many praising the "twist ending" to Mitchell and Cameron's storyline. According to the Nielsen Media Research, the episode was viewed by 11.12 million households during its original broadcast, and received a 4.2 rating/10 percent share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic and became the second highest-rated ABC program of the original week it aired after Grey's Anatomy.

Sarah Hyland does not appear in the episode.

At the Dunphy house, Phil (Ty Burrell) and Claire (Julie Bowen) become worried that Alex (Ariel Winter) is studying too much. The two attempt to get her to take a break and eventually have to force her to do so. Alex eventually gets the second-highest grade in the class, behind a classmate named Sanjay Patel. Alex believes this is due to the fact that Sanjay has a doctor and a professor for parents, while she must do her best with what she was given. This statement offends Phil and Claire, with Claire starting to think they are holding their children back.