diff --git a/qom/object.c b/qom/object.c
index fc19cf676a..4dee02b6e2 100644
--- a/qom/object.c
+++ b/qom/object.c
@@ -988,17 +988,22 @@ static void object_finalize_child_property(Object *obj, const char *name,
 void object_property_add_child(Object *obj, const char *name,
                                Object *child, Error **errp)
 {
+    Error *local_err = NULL;
     gchar *type;
 
     type = g_strdup_printf("child<%s>", object_get_typename(OBJECT(child)));
 
-    object_property_add(obj, name, type, object_get_child_property,
-                        NULL, object_finalize_child_property, child, errp);
-
+    object_property_add(obj, name, type, object_get_child_property, NULL,
+                        object_finalize_child_property, child, &local_err);
+    if (local_err) {
+        error_propagate(errp, local_err);
+        goto out;
+    }
     object_ref(child);
     g_assert(child->parent == NULL);
     child->parent = obj;
 
+out:
     g_free(type);
 }