Our child restraint expert, Bonnie Smith, wrote a couple of articles for the site about child restraint safety and she addresses the issue of front-facing. Here's some of the information from one of her articles (http://www.ohbaby.co.nz/article.aspx?ContentID=1301):

"One of the biggest and most confusing issues surrounding infants and young babies and safety in the car is rear-facing. Rear-facing for as long as possible is recommended as it reduces the risk of serious neck or spinal cord injury, resulting in paralysis or death.

"When rear-facing, the child has the frontal crash forces spread over their back, head and neck (a large portion of the body) in an accident. The rear-facing child is also supported by the back of the car seat meaning there is little stretching of the neck. When forward-facing, the child's torso is restrained by their harness straps. The head of the child, however, is restrained by nothing and thrusts violently forward, stretching their wee necks. If the neck is stretched too far, the child can suffer serious neck injuries, resulting in life-long paralysis or death.

"Whether or not Baby can hold their head up is not an indication that they can be turned to face forward. Likewise, the feet touching the back of the vehicle's seat is not an issue. Young children have immature cervical vertebrae (neck bones) that are not strong enough to protect the spinal cord adequately in an accident when forward-facing in a frontal crash. The vertebrae are still in pieces, joined only by flimsy cartilage (like in your nose). These pieces are soft and have not yet ossified into a complete circle of bone which will enclose and protect the spinal cord. This usually occurs between ages of 3-6, which is why the longer you rear-face, the more time you give for your child’s body to develop to better withstand the intense and violent forces in an accident.

"Health and safety organisations from all over the world, including the American Academy of Paediatrics, Safe2Go, Plunket, SafeKids and Land Transport New Zealand, all recommend keeping your child rear-facing for a minimum of one year of age. Wherever possible for optimal protection in an accident, it is recommended to continue rear-facing for as long as possible up to the height and weight limits of the seat."

I think that's pretty compelling, so much so that my daughter, who is just about 21 months old, is still rear-facing in her car seat. Her legs are getting a bit long now, but I'm going to see if we can make it a bit longer as the evidence shows it's safer for her -- which gives me peace of mind.

If he is happy still being rear facing keep him like that. I'm keeping Josh rear facing for as long as I can.