Science Drives, Wellness Steers

What are your thoughts on birth order: fact or fiction? Early on in my research, and career, I found myself wondering how, or if, birth order was a real "thing" or a hypothetical construct. I found myself wondering if we are "who we are" as individuals, because it's our innate nature (destined to be this way), or because we're nurtured into taking on character traits  (a more "product of my environment" kind of thing). Spoiler: I am totally into the idea that we can create our own destiny which means, by extension, I am all about nurture over nature. Fast forward a few years and I'm a parent, and a therapist, who spends a lot of time talking to parents about their family dynamics; here I am finding a whole new appreciate and renewed interest in how (and if) birth order effects us in our pursuit of purposeful parenting.  Does birth order (ours and our kids') impact our parenting style or is this just a fairy tale?