What PP...finish the sentence, why was she shocked???

You know all you can do is follow your heart on this one...I've terminated care in the past, it was a huge shock to the FDC lady we had (but it wasn't a good situation so it was easy)...you need to think of the specific reasons why you prefer one over the other. It could be concrete things like - what sorts of activities she sets up, the other kids in care being better suited to his age, the weekly routine (ie if the backup carer goes out to playgroup on a regular basis but the regular carer does not). Closeness to home, etc etc. Once you've thought about it in concrete terms like that, then it'll be easier to decide which way you want to go, rather than it just being an emotion-driven decision, kwimA?