How much TV do you let your child watch?

Okay, I know — the experts all agree.  Less TV is more when it comes to kids.  However, I wonder how many of these experts were actually watching their kids when they come up with their theories.  In general, I try to keep the TV off when I can.  That said, I also have 3 kids, so sometimes the only way I can get things done is by turning on the tube or popping in that Baby Einstein video.  Call me part lazy, perhaps, or uncreative, but sometimes it seems that’s the only way I get things done.  And sometimes, it’s out of my hands.  There’s only so many times I can be asked to watch a cartoon before I can’t take it anymore and finally give in.  At least you could say I’m teaching my kids persistence.  So the answer to my question about how much TV they watch?  I wish I actually had an answer.  I wish I could say only an hour or 2 a day, but that would probably be a lie.  But judging by the number of times they seek me out while the TV is on, I can’t quite say they are really watching it, either.  I think half the time it’s background noise to them.  They watch a few minutes, go on playing, leave, come back and watch a few minutes more.  Sometimes the TV will be on and no one is in the room, at which point I usually tiptoe through the house and find them all playing together in one of their rooms.  Then I savor the quiet time, turn the TV off, and pray they keep put long enough for me to get something done — so I don’t have to turn the TV on again.