When I was a young kid my parents had one drink a night. I never saw them drunk. To me alcohol was not a mystery or a taboo. I never really thought about it.
However, getting drunk is a completely different matter. I do think that it's absolutely wrong, irresponsible and unsafe for parents to get drunk in front of their kids.
I know that it makes me very uncomfortable and anxious to see anyone drunk. I can only imagine the anxiety of a child watching drunken behavior from the people who are supposed to be responsible for their care! There's a very real chance that those kids will also start drinking early on thinking, "Hey, my folks do it!"
I've all but stopped drinking in the last 5 months (maybe 1 drink per month) since my W has been drinking heavily. One of us has to be the parent!