On ABC's Modern Family, Jay offered 15-year-old Manny a sip of scotch because he's "old enough now"

Modern Family has set the tone for exposing the complexities of family dynamics, personal relationships, parenting struggles and sibling rivalry for the past five years. In Wednesday night's episode, Marco Polo, hit on an important topic from our perspective: offering kids under the age of 21 a sip of alcohol. 

While Ed O'Neill's quote that she's "full-bodied and 18-years-old" is popular today on Twitter, we all know he was referencing his scotch. Yet in that scene, O'Neill opened the door to a critically important conversation for parents nationwide: should we offer our kids a sip of alcohol?

In response to learning his stepson, Manny (played by Rico Rodriguez) was nursing a broken heart, Jay noted that now he's old enough to offer him a sip of his scotch. In the true comedic form the show is known for, Gloria (Manny's mother played by Sofia Veraga) appears on the stairs, clearly concerned for her son's emotional well-being, but also to make it clear that Jay better not actually give her son a sip of his scotch. 

We applaud the show for using its tremendous platform to include such an important topic. Part of the success of the show lies in the writers' ability to check the pulse of the country, engage us on topics that are relevant and happening in households from east to west. We invite you to learn more about the research on kids and sipping with our new infographic and share your thoughts here.