The safety data have been accumulating for several years now, but this week the American Academy of Pediatrics changed their official recommendation to state that children should remain rear-facing in their car seats until age 2, or until they have reached the rear-facing weight and height limits for their car seat.  Additionally, older kids should remain in a belt-positioning booster seat until they are 4 feet 9 inches tall and are at least 8 years old.  The bottom line is that kids are safer in the rear-facing position:  under age 2, they are 75% less likely to die or be severely injured in a collision if they are rear-facing.  For every excuse that you can think of as to why your child would really rather face forward, please refer back to this statistic for your answer:  75% less likely to die or be severely injured.  The New York Times summarizes these recommendations nicely here, and the AAP provides more advice and specific car-seat information.