Oh dear - this answer is going to be long. I was laughing as I read your post, though. I know it's a serious question, but I like your style!
Well, I've never heard of that book you started with. So I can't discuss it from that standpoint.
But it's SO easy for nonstop or nearly nonstop TV to happen! It's like wallpaper (well, some wallpaper) or the clutter on top of your fridge - pretty soon you don't even notice it, and if you do, you wonder how it happened and whether the world would come to an end if you did something about it.
Let's talk about you first. You might have withdrawal symptoms if you try turning the set off for longer than you're used to. Some people are really spooked out by a quiet house with no TV noise in it.
But you can give it a try. For yourself, you might substitute something like radio or CDs (music you like or things your children like) if the quiet makes you nervous. Some people set timers for fifteen or thirty TV-free minutes, to start. I'm not kidding - it helps some people to do it that way.
The backbone of good television usage is knowing where the power button is. Watch television DELIBERATELY. If there's a program you like, turn it on and watch that show. When the show is over, don't hesitate: turn the set off. That's the hard part. Be strong. Be adventurous.
One thing that may happen is that you find you have a lot more time, even as a busy SAHM whose husband is away. TV simply EATS time. I'm tired, myself, and I just finished watching "Extreme Makeover Home Edition," too, and now turning off the set gives me a chance to do some writing (after I finish this), something I wouldn't be doing if I had let the TV stay blasting. It's just NOT good background noise for being creative.
Control the machine. You may choose to let your children watch something that is good for them or that you know they enjoy. And if it helps you fix supper, well and good. But let that be a minor part of their total day. You want to ensure that the best part, the best thing, of their day is playing outside or reading with Mama or talking to each other at suppertime. Get the idea? Once you're reaching that point on a pretty regular basis, you're starting to conquer the TV beast.
And it's a good idea to start doing this now, because when your children get older they may demand to watch what "everybody" watches, and you need to have already practiced saying no.
If they're old enough that they can ask you questions about your shows and it makes you uncomfortable to have to answer, it's time to re-think what you watch. Sad but true - you're the grownup so you have to do that. Some of my grown children have that gizmo that will record those shows for them to watch at a more convenient time - like after the kids are fast asleep. When my children were still growing up, having no such gizmo, I had to give up - are you ready for this? - "Masterpiece Theater"! The kids called me on the carpet for some things being shown on that highbrow entertainment venue, and I couldn't come up with a good defense, so I had to say goodbye to it. I had thought it MUST be exempt because it was on PBS.... A month later I couldn't imagine going back to the program. I had better things to do.
Your kids are young but they can start, with only a little help from you, to find other things they can do instead of TV - playing outside, drawing, building with blocks or legos, playing with other toys or dolls, whatever. Those things are good for the brain even if they're not "structured" activities. At their ages, if you don't miss the tube, they won't.
I repeat: in my humble opinion, you don't necessarily have to forbid TV - unless you want to - to be a good mama. Just make viewing a minor thing instead of a major one for all of you. Dvds can come in really handy when children are sick, or you're sick, or there's an emergency. That's fine. It's like going to a movie at home. But you wouldn't live in a movie theater, and you wouldn't want your children to.
Hope all this rambling helps a bit - I didn't intend to lecture. Maybe I should go watch something instead of letting this answer get any longer. Um, no. :^)