As a child grows older, it is difficult to stop him or control him from watching TV or select the programme for him. Usually, his schoolmates may mention some TV programmes or cartoons to him.
Instead, I think before he is addicted to TV, it is best to help a child to explore other interests and that he can find many other more interesting activities instead of sitting infront of the TV.
My son is very different from my eldest daughter. He doesn't like to watch cartoon since he was just 1 yr old. He likes to watch news & weather report, the films about travel with many beautiful scenes. Previously he liked to watch 笑談普通話. I think he likes to watch somebody sitting in front of the camera & talk.
Now he is 3, sometimes he can associate the news immediately with the actual situation. For example, yesterday the news talked about the investigation report of 紅蟲 in public swimming pools and he then associated & told us that the hotel's swimming pool in Bangkok will not have 紅蟲. Because we are going to Bangkok this X'mas. But I didn't think of he could do this association.