vomiting for fun?

[clutter]

My dd has just turned 16 months and has been making herself sick. I don't mean ill or crying till she is sick but sticking her fingers down her throat and throwing up! She also finds it really funny, and giggles while she is doing it. She doesn't seem to like it much when she is sick but does it again a couple of days later, again finding it really funny.

Has anyone else heard of this? The times she does it are totally inconsistent so there isn't one trigger. She did it in front of some friends who brought their tots round and there was general agreement that it was very interesting behaviour and not at all normal. The next time was when she was in the back of the car for a short journey, but had only had water since breakfast so didn't bring much up. Tonight it was after dinner. Sorry this is so long but i find it really disturbing when she does it. Please help

PS this is not any kind of learned behaviour and she has never seen anyone be sick, I am a stay at home mum and she is hardly out of my sight I play with her all the time so i don't think it is an attention thing but i guess it could b, I am totally stuck!

My 10-month-old DS does that too - he sticks his fingers into his mouth so far back that he often gags. It's quite funny actually as sometimes, when I am driving, I can hear this constant retching noise coming from the back! He does bring stuff up sometimes but very rarely. I think it's a comfort thing, he seems to find it quite comforting to stick his fingers into his mouth. I think he does it till he retches because he can't quite control just how far he should be sticking his fingers down his throat. He often laughs when we tell him not to do it or we act surprised or shocked at his behaviour so we are now trying not to react to it... My MIL thinks it's the teeth at the back and it's comforting for him to use his fingers to rub the gums... WHO KNOWS?