How Much is Too Much?

How much TV does your toddler watch in a day?

My 2 1/2 year old boy used to dislike watching TV that much. However, when he reached the 2 year mark, he started enjoying watching educational videos like Barney, Brainy Baby and such. Then after a while he started watching Dora the Explorer and some kid's show on some popular kids channel.

Now, he even watches Tom & Jerry, Woody Wood Pecker and Fairly Odd Parents. He knows how to go up to the tv stand, put on the TV and sit quietly in his little chair.

Sometimes when I have stuff to do I just let him watch. He seems to be happy. But am I doing more harm than good? At night, usually he just watches 1-hr worth of cartoons. After that he would turn off the TV by himself and ask me to read him a book. Or sometimes he would ask me to tell him a story or sometimes we just play with his coloring book. We would play games and just simply bond. So, I am not guilty of not spending quality time with him.

That's why so far, I just let him watch even for a few hours. I don't see it at something running his life. As long as he does not watch TV the whole day and in reasonable amount of time then I guess it's okay.