my husband will sometimes have a beer or two and every now and then i'll have a glass of wine during or after dinner. our son calls beer "daddy's juice". 

I don't have kids, but my mom drank in front of me. She didn't tell me what it was, but when I asked she would tell me the brand name (Kessler I think). Since I didn't know what it was and I was only like 4 or so, I tried once when she was out of the room. It was so gross to me I never asked about it again, lol.

Yes, probably a couple times and week and if my daughters ask what it is, I'll usually say something like, "it's for adults... it's alcohol... it's yucky for kids..." 

Haven't had to deal with that yet. Both my kids are under 2 so we refuse to drink around them right now because we don't want to have an emergency or something that requires a quick intelligent decision and not be able to deal with it. But when they get older we probably will and we wont lie about what it is. Its best to be honest with your children regardless of their age.

Yeah, I will have a glass of wine or a beer with dinner now and again. I tell them it's a drink for grown ups only....they both know what its called now- they are 5 and 10. And that if you drink too much of it, it can make you feel dizzy and sick.

I don't have children so I couldn't answer the question, but my parents always did drink in front of me. I don't remember the day I learned what alcohol was, but I always generally understood it and didn't even get interested in it until I was about 17. They never drank enough to change their behavior in a way that was obvious or of concern to me. That will likely be the rule I use for myself when I have kids. 

I've never saw drinking in front of children as an issue, BUT I do think it's pretty bad to get drunk or even tipsy when your kids are around. Set a good example for your kids and show them what drinking responsibly is. Seeing your parents drunk as a kid and even as an adult is disheartening. Plus, depending on the age of your children, drinking too much leads to lack of supervision. My parents were drinking with some friends one time when I was really little, weren't paying that much attention, and I almost drowned in a kiddie pool.

It's also really easy to tell a child that the drink is "for adults only". If they ask why, I'd probably tell my kid it will make them feel sick because they aren't fully grown yet or something.

My father was and still is a beer drinker. There are almost always beer cans or bottles in my parents' fridge. He would come home from work, crack open a cold one, and relax in front of the TV. During football season, he'd drink a few beers or maybe a mixed drink or two while snacking, but never got out of control (my father is 6'5" and bulky, so it takes a lot of alcohol to get him drunk). There were only maybe 2 or 3 times when he drank too much while my siblings and I were around, but my mother was always sober and would cut him off before he got too crazy. Now that my siblings and I are older, he drinks more, and can get quite obnoxious. I don't like it when he gets this way in front of my kids, but since this doesn't happen in our home and he's always the only one tipsy, we tend to let it slide.

My husband and I drink from time to time, and it's usually just in social situations. We don't drink at meal times or during the day simply because we just don't like to. Our oldest knows what alcohol is. She calls beer "Grandpa's drink," and knows why she's not supposed to have any. She has been told that alcohol is just for grown ups and that it'll make her feel sick if she drinks it. Our sons are too little to understand alcohol, and are just told "no" when they ask if they can have any and are given an alternative beverage.

I think it's perfectly fine for parents to have a drink or two when their children are present because a small amount of alcohol isn't likely to affect them. However, I think it's completely wrong for parents to become tipsy or full on drunk in front of their children or for children to be at parties where large amounts of alcohol are being consumed because someone needs to be responsible for their care. Also, I feel getting wasted in front of a child sets a horrible example. I had a friend a few years back who was a big time partier just like I was. Her and I were pregnant with our oldest children at the same time, and her son is only 2 days older than my daughter. After the birth of her son, she jumped right back into the party world which would have been okay if she had left her son in the care of a responsible adult. I remember her calling me at 2am one time freaking out and begging me to come over because her son was crying, she was alone, and she couldn't figure out what to do. I packed up my daughter and rushed over because she sounded like she was going to lose her cool and I was worried sick about her baby. When I got to her place, she was stumbling, her words were slurred, and she reaked of booze. All her baby wanted was to eat, and she was too trashed to figure out how to make him a bottle. I fed the baby, got him back to sleep, put his messed up mama to bed, and called her mother to come over. The next day, she thanked me for helping her out, and I begged her never to do something so irresponsible again. A few months later, something similar happened, and her and her boyfriend actually ended up having their son taken away from them for a short time while they attended A.A. and got their acts together.

Im not for anyone getting trashed in front of their kids but i dont see a problem with a glass of wine or a beer if you like it.  Im not for a parent constantly drinking either.  I cant really name a time in the past 20 years where i havent seen my dad without him drinking a beer.  He doesnt get drunk or buzzed he just constantly needs to drink.  It make me sad that he is so dependant on it, i consider him an alcoholic i have since grade school.  He gets mad if you talk about it at all and despite many health problems he refuses to stop.  Its his body and his choice, it just makes me sad to think he may not be around much longer  to watch his granddaughter grow up.  I have come to terms with my father and his issues and will be sad when he goes but it wont be any sort of shock.

I think in moderation it's fine.  The only problem is, that we never know what imprint our children have.  I drank a wine cooler maybe once a month while raising my children, and had alcohol when guests were over.  My son grew up to be an alcoholic, and his battle stopping that 15 year addiction was brutal.  And now I wonder what tendencies my grandson may have when he grows older.  I wish I'd known about familial problems when raising my kids, but don't know if it would have helped.

I drink around my kids, but I do not get drunk.  My parents would get drunk and smoke weed and that probably led me to not be a fan of either!  lol  But I'm not doing either in front of my kids so they may grow up to be alcoholics or something.

@sarahsmurfette@xanga - wonderful explanation! 

My parents and grandparents drank in front of us often (not that they were heavy drinkers, they just didn't keep secrets from us).  And I'm so grateful for it.  They were always straightforward with us about what alcohol is, and it really loses it's appeal to teens when it's not secretive or frowned upon.