what should a 15 month old be eating?

[nannyDB]

I work as a nanny and I was looking after a 15 month old girl today. All her food had been home cooked and frozen and I just had to heat it up.
I was a bit concerned that everything was still a really smooth pureed texture - so for lunch she had fish, potatoes and vegetables all blended together followed by pureed apple and tea was pasta, veg and cheese, again blended smooth. I know her full time nanny and she says this is because she only has a few teeth and tends to gag on finger foods.
Its a couple of years since I looked after a toddler full time but I'm sure I was introducing stuff like soft sandwiches, whole pieces of soft pasta, flaked fish, well cooked broccoli florets and carrot sticks, ripe, juicy fruit like melon and pear.
I know at this age learning to enjoy food is important and whilst the mush tasted good, it didn't look that appetising.
As regards the teeth thing and gagging - isn't chewing a skill that needs to be learned, maybe she would gag the first few times because she's not used to more solid food but this would get better with practice.
Thinking back I have given soft finger food to babies with not many teeth - they sort of suck and squash it with their gums don't they?
What do other mums think? I don't know whether to have a word with my friend (the ft nanny) about this but I need to know what I'm talking about first. The parents take everything this nanny says as gospel truth but I've a hunch she's wrong here.
Thankyou (Sorry for the long post)

I agree with you.

My nearly 16mnth old eats whatever we eat - no mashing/puree at all. She only has 6 teeth but her gums can chew too!

Seems a bit wierd, ds2 is completely different from ds1- he had finger food/lumpy food from about 11 months, but ds2 has been slow starter(possibly due to exc bfing till 7 months, then not introducing solids till about 9months) ds2 will have pureed lumpy food but also mangages as finger food- whole pasta, chopped cumcumber/carrot, plain biscuits etc

Ds2 is 15months btw- and only has few teeth.

Think you need to chat to parent/nanny

you know you need to have a word... i thought even if babies were being puree-fed they should be on finger food at 8-9 months?

why don't you ask if you could try the child on mashed potato or pasta or suggest they allow finger food like toms/cucumber for the child to suck and chew on.
my dd is 13mths and eats the same as us without being mashed/pureed.
she loves jam/soft cheese sandwiches,wotsits, mini cheddars,biscuits,bananas,apples,kiwi,strawberrys,chocolate just to name a few.
Oh and by the way she has 5 teeth with no 6 just showing.
it doesn't matter if the babe only throws it on the floor at first at least she will know what it looks and feels like, after all its all about fun at this age

Thanks for your advice. I thought she should have been eating more "normal" food by now.
What do I do now though? The little girl is obviously very healthy and happy, so should I be interfering? I think I'll bring it into conversation with mum when I see them next Saturday and maybe ask if she wants me to try her with some normal veg alongside the blended stuff.

just tell her it would be a good idea to start introducing a few lumps and finger foods and say that their daughter has done so well at mastering purees she is obviously ready to move onto the next stage, make it sound like their daughter has done fantastic they will then trust your expert opinion

My 12 month old has had 2 teeth since November, and her 3rd and 4th are just coming through now. She eats whatever we are eating - no purees at all - yuk! You could point out to your friend that all of the teeth are there under the gums, so they are hard, not like an adult who has lost their teeth and thus has soft gums.

you don't need teeth to chew. I have a fifteen month old and she eats completely normal food. and always has since six months old btw. if she ~is gagging then it needs to be sorted imo