I quit drinking in 1998 when my kids were 5 and 7 years old. Even after all these years, my memories of them being little are dim or nonexistent, which is sad indeed--as is the fact the during their early years I was (to say the least) a horrific mother.
But my kids also learned something. They saw their mother make a permanent and powerful decision to quit drinking. They saw her change her behavior and become, for the most part, a calm, supportive and loving mother. Now that they are young adults, they have a fuller perspective and can appreciate what happened and put their early years in context of what followed.
But it all started with the decision to quit, no matter what. Best decision I ever made.