I think this is pretty simple and folks are talking over each other.

Involved parenting is a blocker issue, not just a critical one. There may be other critical issues in the queue, but those are blocked on that first one.

So the other issues being resolved may not matter at all if the first isn't completed first.

That's more or less how I see GPs argument. My rather diverse education background certainly lets me see that hypothesis as absolutely true - but I have my own personal biases due to experiences.