diff --git a/strix/core/execution.py b/strix/core/execution.py
index 97fc1c94..5b27a4cc 100644
--- a/strix/core/execution.py
+++ b/strix/core/execution.py
@@ -537,9 +537,9 @@ async def _exhausted_recovery(
         agent_id,
     )
     await coordinator.set_status(agent_id, "waiting")
-    # The user talks to the root, so parking is only self-service there. A parked
-    # subagent owes its parent a report it can no longer send, and the parent would
-    # otherwise wait out its full timeout for a message that is never coming.
+    # A parked child owes its parent a completion report it can no longer send. The
+    # parent is an agent, not a watching human, so nothing else tells it to stop
+    # waiting and it burns its full timeout on a message that is never coming.
     await _notify_parent_on_stall(coordinator, agent_id)
     return result
 
diff --git a/tests/test_execution.py b/tests/test_execution.py
index 8adcaa0f..491feaec 100644
--- a/tests/test_execution.py
+++ b/tests/test_execution.py
@@ -895,10 +895,11 @@ async def test_interactive_recovery_exhaustion_parks_instead_of_crashing(
 async def test_interactive_subagent_exhaustion_tells_its_parent(
     monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
 ) -> None:
-    """The user only talks to the root, so a parked child must report up.
+    """A parked child must report up so its parent stops waiting on it.
 
-    Otherwise a parent blocked in wait_for_message burns its whole timeout
-    waiting for a completion report the child can no longer send.
+    The parent is an agent, not a watching human, so a parent blocked in
+    wait_for_message otherwise burns its whole timeout on a completion
+    report the child can no longer send.
     """
     coordinator = AgentCoordinator()
     await coordinator.register("root", "strix", parent_id=None)
@@ -924,7 +925,7 @@ async def test_interactive_subagent_exhaustion_tells_its_parent(
 async def test_interactive_root_exhaustion_notifies_nobody(
     monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
 ) -> None:
-    """A parked root is self-service: the user is already watching it."""
+    """The root has no parent to report to, so parking stays silent."""
     coordinator = AgentCoordinator()
     await coordinator.register("root", "strix", parent_id=None)
     monkeypatch.setattr(