But if you observe children learning in their first few years of life you can see that they can and do learn on their own - we leave them alone to crawl walk talk and gain control over their bodies. It happens without much help from parents.

I absolutely relate to being alone in squalor trying to come up with something adequate. I relate to that and I've been known to crawl out of bed and drink out of a 2-liter bottle of Diet Coke.