I have 3 kids - 2 of whom are old enough to watch tv. Oldest is 5, middle is 3 and they used to watch on average around 4 hours of tv a day. I was uncomfortable with how much they watched but figured I wasn't the one at home with them all day so I daren't raise it with her....
My wife however, got sick of tantrums, fights etc and decided to remove the TV. Not just turn it off - REMOVE it from the room - it now sits in our bedroom under a blanket. This was 3 weeks ago.
What happened? Nuclear war? Nope - the opposite, the kids whined off and on for a week and then forgot about it. They are both more pleasant to be around - less tantrums, use their imaginations more, play better together and have vastly improved with their reading, drawing and creative play. We're loving it - they get one movie a week as a treat and get to wach it on Friday nights with pizza. TV, DVD's etc are now viewed as a big deal and they enjoy them more.
We're sold - I don't even miss the stupid thing and I'm convinced our kids are better off for it.
(No we're not Amish)
If it has syntax, it isn't user friendly.