diff --git a/mm/memcontrol.c b/mm/memcontrol.c
index 7e11cb7d75b1..e63278222be5 100644
--- a/mm/memcontrol.c
+++ b/mm/memcontrol.c
@@ -4959,31 +4959,18 @@ static void mem_cgroup_reparent_charges(struct mem_cgroup *memcg)
 	} while (usage > 0);
 }
 
-/*
- * This mainly exists for tests during the setting of set of use_hierarchy.
- * Since this is the very setting we are changing, the current hierarchy value
- * is meaningless
- */
-static inline bool __memcg_has_children(struct mem_cgroup *memcg)
-{
-	struct cgroup_subsys_state *pos;
-
-	/* bounce at first found */
-	css_for_each_child(pos, &memcg->css)
-		return true;
-	return false;
-}
-
-/*
- * Must be called with memcg_create_mutex held, unless the cgroup is guaranteed
- * to be already dead (as in mem_cgroup_force_empty, for instance).  This is
- * from mem_cgroup_count_children(), in the sense that we don't really care how
- * many children we have; we only need to know if we have any.  It also counts
- * any memcg without hierarchy as infertile.
- */
 static inline bool memcg_has_children(struct mem_cgroup *memcg)
 {
-	return memcg->use_hierarchy && __memcg_has_children(memcg);
+	lockdep_assert_held(&memcg_create_mutex);
+	/*
+	 * The lock does not prevent addition or deletion to the list
+	 * of children, but it prevents a new child from being
+	 * initialized based on this parent in css_online(), so it's
+	 * enough to decide whether hierarchically inherited
+	 * attributes can still be changed or not.
+	 */
+	return memcg->use_hierarchy &&
+		!list_empty(&memcg->css.cgroup->children);
 }
 
 /*
@@ -5063,7 +5050,7 @@ static int mem_cgroup_hierarchy_write(struct cgroup_subsys_state *css,
 	 */
 	if ((!parent_memcg || !parent_memcg->use_hierarchy) &&
 				(val == 1 || val == 0)) {
-		if (!__memcg_has_children(memcg))
+		if (list_empty(&memcg->css.cgroup->children))
 			memcg->use_hierarchy = val;
 		else
 			retval = -EBUSY;