Narrative practice increases children’s productivity in forensic interviews, and one recommended topic is the child’s last birthday, though interviewers have raised concerns about its productivity. Study 1 surveyed forensic interviewers use of and attitudes about the birthday narrative. Participants included 170 forensic interviewers who subscribed to a webinar promoting use of the birthday narrative (Mage = 43 years, SD = 10.2, 94% female). Over half (55%) of interviewers reported that they rarely/never asked about children’s birthdays, and non-users were especially likely to view the birthday narrative as never/rarely productive. Although interviewers viewed memory difficulties as more likely to occur with the birthday narrative than other practice topics (the child’s likes, the child’s day), non-users did not view memory difficulties, reluctance, generic reports, or religious objections as especially problematic. Open-ended responses identified negative experiences with the birthday as an additional concern, and interviewers’ recommended wording of the prompts suggested suboptimal questioning strategies. Study 2 assessed the use of the birthday narrative in forensic interviews. The sample included 350 forensic interviews with 4- to 12-year-old children (Mage = 8.85, SD = 2.59). Only 4% of children failed to recall substantive information if interviewers persisted, though another 11% failed when interviewers stopped persisting. Invitations were more effective than other question types, especially among older children. 21% of children mentioned a negative detail during their narrative.  Interviewers’ skepticism about the birthday narrative may be due to suboptimal questioning and sensitivity to occasional failures and negative information.