I think that choosing the right content can help a lot with feeling guilty about TV. I did my best to wait until age 2 but sometimes you just need 30 freakin' minutes. Anyway, regardless of schedule, picking good tv makes a difference.
One of my favorites is YogaKids, which gets the kids moving. It says 3-5 but my toddler enjoys trying it out. There are probably other movement dvds out there...
The other series I love is The Little Travelers, which are documentaries about 2 sisters visiting different countries (Japan, Bali, British Isles, Germany, and Iran so far).
The gentler Studio Ghibli movies are great. My 4yo fave is Whisper of the Heart. She is sensitive so virtually all Disney/Pixar is out...
Some nature movies can be good but tons of them have too much hunting and dying. Macgillivray Freeman's Dolphins is good, maybe March of the Penguins.
For the really little ones I used the Baby Signs dvds. It really helped my kids when they were 8 months and up and learning the basic signs. I would chime in now and then to praise their efforts until they got used to copying the signs.
