diff --git a/src/cls_rbd.cc b/src/cls_rbd.cc
index 6fcfcd01b5b..c7f697d7825 100644
--- a/src/cls_rbd.cc
+++ b/src/cls_rbd.cc
@@ -53,6 +53,9 @@ cls_method_handle_t h_set_size;
 cls_method_handle_t h_get_parent;
 cls_method_handle_t h_set_parent;
 cls_method_handle_t h_remove_parent;
+cls_method_handle_t h_add_child;
+cls_method_handle_t h_remove_child;
+cls_method_handle_t h_get_children;
 cls_method_handle_t h_get_snapcontext;
 cls_method_handle_t h_get_object_prefix;
 cls_method_handle_t h_get_snapshot_name;
@@ -865,6 +868,204 @@ int remove_parent(cls_method_context_t hctx, bufferlist *in, bufferlist *out)
   return 0;
 }
 
+/**
+ * methods for dealing with rbd_children object
+ */
+
+static int decode_parent_common(bufferlist::iterator& it, uint64_t *poolid,
+				string *imageid, snapid_t *snapid)
+{
+  try {
+    ::decode(*poolid, it);
+    ::decode(*imageid, it);
+    ::decode(*snapid, it);
+  } catch (const buffer::error &err) {
+    return -EINVAL;
+  }
+  return 0;
+}
+
+static int decode_parent(bufferlist *in, uint64_t *poolid,
+			 string *imageid, snapid_t *snapid)
+{
+  bufferlist::iterator it = in->begin();
+  return decode_parent_common(it, poolid, imageid, snapid);
+}
+
+static int decode_parent_and_child(bufferlist *in, uint64_t *poolid,
+			           string *imageid, snapid_t *snapid,
+				   string *c_imageid)
+{
+  bufferlist::iterator it = in->begin();
+  int r = decode_parent_common(it, poolid, imageid, snapid);
+  if (r < 0)
+    return r;
+  try {
+    ::decode(*c_imageid, it);
+  } catch (const buffer::error &err) {
+    return -EINVAL;
+  }
+  return 0;
+}
+
+static string parent_key(uint64_t poolid, string imageid, snapid_t snapid)
+{
+  bufferlist key_bl;
+  ::encode(poolid, key_bl);
+  ::encode(imageid, key_bl);
+  ::encode(snapid, key_bl);
+  return string(key_bl.c_str(), key_bl.length());
+}
+
+/**
+ * add child to rbd_children directory object
+ *
+ * rbd_children is a map of (p_poolid, p_imageid, p_snapid) to
+ * [c_imageid, [c_imageid ... ]]
+ *
+ * Input:
+ * @param p_poolid parent pool id
+ * @param p_imageid parent image oid
+ * @param p_snapid parent snapshot id
+ * @param c_imageid new child image oid to add
+ *
+ * @returns 0 on success, negative error on failure
+ */
+
+int add_child(cls_method_context_t hctx, bufferlist *in, bufferlist *out)
+{
+  int r;
+
+  uint64_t p_poolid;
+  snapid_t p_snapid;
+  string p_imageid, c_imageid;
+  // Use set for ease of erase() for remove_child()
+  std::set<string> children;
+
+  r = decode_parent_and_child(in, &p_poolid, &p_imageid, &p_snapid, &c_imageid);
+  if (r < 0)
+    return r;
+
+  CLS_LOG(20, "add_child %s to (%d, %s, %d)", c_imageid.c_str(),
+	  p_poolid, p_imageid.c_str(), p_snapid);
+
+  string key = parent_key(p_poolid, p_imageid, p_snapid);
+
+  // get current child list for parent, if any
+  r = read_key(hctx, key, &children);
+  if ((r < 0) && (r != -ENOENT)) {
+    CLS_LOG(20, "add_child: omap read failed: %d", r);
+    return r;
+  }
+
+  // add new child
+  children.insert(c_imageid);
+
+  // write back
+  bufferlist childbl;
+  ::encode(children, childbl);
+  r = cls_cxx_map_set_val(hctx, key, &childbl);
+  if (r < 0)
+    CLS_LOG(20, "add_child: omap write failed: %d", r);
+  return r;
+}
+
+/**
+ * remove child from rbd_children directory object
+ *
+ * Input:
+ * @param p_poolid parent pool id
+ * @param p_imageid parent image oid
+ * @param p_snapid parent snapshot id
+ * @param c_imageid new child image oid to add
+ *
+ * @returns 0 on success, negative error on failure
+ */
+
+int remove_child(cls_method_context_t hctx, bufferlist *in, bufferlist *out)
+{
+  int r;
+
+  uint64_t p_poolid;
+  snapid_t p_snapid;
+  string p_imageid, c_imageid;
+  std::set<string> children;
+
+  r = decode_parent_and_child(in, &p_poolid, &p_imageid, &p_snapid, &c_imageid);
+  if (r < 0)
+    return r;
+
+  CLS_LOG(20, "remove_child %s from (%d, %s, %d)", c_imageid.c_str(),
+	       p_poolid, p_imageid.c_str(), p_snapid);
+
+  string key = parent_key(p_poolid, p_imageid, p_snapid);
+
+  // get current child list for parent.  Unlike add_child(), an empty list
+  // is an error (how can we remove something that doesn't exist?)
+  r = read_key(hctx, key, &children);
+  if (r < 0) {
+    CLS_LOG(20, "remove_child: read omap failed: %d", r);
+    return r;
+  }
+
+  // find and remove child
+  children.erase(c_imageid);
+
+  // now empty?  remove entry altogether
+  if (children.empty()) {
+    r = cls_cxx_map_remove_key(hctx, key);
+    if (r < 0)
+      CLS_LOG(20, "remove_child: remove key failed: %d", r);
+  } else {
+    // write back shortened children list
+    bufferlist childbl;
+    ::encode(children, childbl);
+    r = cls_cxx_map_set_val(hctx, key, &childbl);
+    if (r < 0)
+      CLS_LOG(20, "remove_child: write omap failed: %d ", r);
+  }
+  return r;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Input:
+ * @param p_poolid parent pool id
+ * @param p_imageid parent image oid
+ * @param p_snapid parent snapshot id
+ * @param c_imageid new child image oid to add
+ *
+ * Output:
+ * @param children set<string> of children
+ *
+ * @returns 0 on success, negative error on failure
+ */
+int get_children(cls_method_context_t hctx, bufferlist *in, bufferlist *out)
+{
+  int r;
+  uint64_t p_poolid;
+  snapid_t p_snapid;
+  string p_imageid;
+  std::set<string> children;
+
+  r = decode_parent(in, &p_poolid, &p_imageid, &p_snapid);
+  if (r < 0)
+    return r;
+
+  CLS_LOG(20, "get_children of (%d, %s, %d)",
+	  p_poolid, p_imageid.c_str(), p_snapid);
+
+  string key = parent_key(p_poolid, p_imageid, p_snapid);
+
+  r = read_key(hctx, key, &children);
+  if (r < 0) {
+    if (r != -ENOENT)
+      CLS_LOG(20, "remove_child: read omap failed: %d", r);
+    return r;
+  }
+  ::encode(children, *out);
+  return 0;
+}
+
 
 /**
  * Get the information needed to create a rados snap context for doing
@@ -1861,6 +2062,17 @@ void __cls_init()
 			  CLS_METHOD_RD | CLS_METHOD_WR | CLS_METHOD_PUBLIC,
 			  remove_parent, &h_remove_parent);
 
+  /* methods for the rbd_children object */
+  cls_register_cxx_method(h_class, "add_child",
+			  CLS_METHOD_RD | CLS_METHOD_WR | CLS_METHOD_PUBLIC,
+			  add_child, &h_add_child);
+  cls_register_cxx_method(h_class, "remove_child",
+			  CLS_METHOD_RD | CLS_METHOD_WR | CLS_METHOD_PUBLIC,
+			  remove_child, &h_remove_child);
+  cls_register_cxx_method(h_class, "get_children",
+			  CLS_METHOD_RD | CLS_METHOD_WR | CLS_METHOD_PUBLIC,
+			  get_children, &h_get_children);
+
   /* methods for the rbd_id.$image_name objects */
   cls_register_cxx_method(h_class, "get_id",
 			  CLS_METHOD_RD | CLS_METHOD_PUBLIC,
diff --git a/src/include/rbd_types.h b/src/include/rbd_types.h
index 034aece9af2..6a00cdca09a 100644
--- a/src/include/rbd_types.h
+++ b/src/include/rbd_types.h
@@ -45,6 +45,22 @@
 #define RBD_DIRECTORY           "rbd_directory"
 #define RBD_INFO                "rbd_info"
 
+/*
+ * rbd_children object in each pool contains omap entries
+ * that map parent (poolid, imageid, snapid) to a list of children
+ * (imageids; snapids aren't required because we get all the snapshot
+ * info from a read of the child's header object anyway).
+ *
+ * The clone operation writes a new item to this child list, and rm or
+ * flatten removes an item, and may remove the whole entry if no children
+ * exist after the rm/flatten.
+ *
+ * When attempting to remove a parent, all pools are searched for
+ * rbd_children objects with entries referring to that parent; if any
+ * exist (and those children exist), the parent removal is prevented.
+ */
+#define RBD_CHILDREN		"rbd_children"
+
 #define RBD_DEFAULT_OBJ_ORDER	22   /* 4MB */
 
 #define RBD_MAX_OBJ_NAME_SIZE	96
diff --git a/src/librbd/cls_rbd_client.cc b/src/librbd/cls_rbd_client.cc
index 543844782b7..d0e78637803 100644
--- a/src/librbd/cls_rbd_client.cc
+++ b/src/librbd/cls_rbd_client.cc
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-// -*- mode:C++; tab-width:8; c-basic-offset:2; indent-tabs-mode:t -*- 
+// -*- mode:C++; tab-width:8; c-basic-offset:2; indent-tabs-mode:t -*-
 // vim: ts=8 sw=2 smarttab
 
 #include "include/buffer.h"
@@ -227,6 +227,53 @@ namespace librbd {
       return ioctx->exec(oid, "rbd", "remove_parent", inbl, outbl);
     }
 
+    int add_child(librados::IoCtx *ioctx, const std::string &oid,
+		  uint64_t p_poolid, const std::string &p_imageid,
+		  snapid_t p_snapid, const std::string &c_imageid)
+    {
+      bufferlist in, out;
+      ::encode(p_poolid, in);
+      ::encode(p_imageid, in);
+      ::encode(p_snapid, in);
+      ::encode(c_imageid, in);
+
+      return ioctx->exec(oid, "rbd", "add_child", in, out);
+    }
+
+    int remove_child(librados::IoCtx *ioctx, const std::string &oid,
+		     uint64_t p_poolid, const std::string &p_imageid,
+		     snapid_t p_snapid, const std::string &c_imageid)
+    {
+      bufferlist in, out;
+      ::encode(p_poolid, in);
+      ::encode(p_imageid, in);
+      ::encode(p_snapid, in);
+      ::encode(c_imageid, in);
+
+      return ioctx->exec(oid, "rbd", "remove_child", in, out);
+    }
+
+    int get_children(librados::IoCtx *ioctx, const std::string &oid,
+		     uint64_t p_poolid, const std::string &p_imageid,
+		     snapid_t p_snapid, set<string>& children)
+    {
+      bufferlist in, out;
+      ::encode(p_poolid, in);
+      ::encode(p_imageid, in);
+      ::encode(p_snapid, in);
+
+      int r = ioctx->exec(oid, "rbd", "get_children", in, out);
+      if (r < 0)
+	return r;
+      bufferlist::iterator it = out.begin();
+      try {
+	::decode(children, it);
+      } catch (const buffer::error &err) {
+	return -EBADMSG;
+      }
+      return 0;
+    }
+
     int snapshot_add(librados::IoCtx *ioctx, const std::string &oid,
 		     snapid_t snap_id, const std::string &snap_name)
     {
diff --git a/src/librbd/cls_rbd_client.h b/src/librbd/cls_rbd_client.h
index 48335bb9646..285ed373961 100644
--- a/src/librbd/cls_rbd_client.h
+++ b/src/librbd/cls_rbd_client.h
@@ -56,6 +56,15 @@ namespace librbd {
 		   int64_t parent_pool, const std::string& parent_image,
 		   snapid_t parent_snap_id, uint64_t parent_overlap);
     int remove_parent(librados::IoCtx *ioctx, const std::string &oid);
+    int add_child(librados::IoCtx *ioctx, const std::string &oid,
+		  uint64_t p_poolid, const std::string &p_imageid,
+		  snapid_t p_snapid, const std::string &c_imageid);
+    int remove_child(librados::IoCtx *ioctx, const std::string &oid,
+		     uint64_t p_poolid, const std::string &p_imageid,
+		     snapid_t p_snapid, const std::string &c_imageid);
+    int get_children(librados::IoCtx *ioctx, const std::string &oid,
+		     uint64_t p_poolid, const std::string &p_imageid,
+		     snapid_t p_snapid, set<string>& children);
     int snapshot_add(librados::IoCtx *ioctx, const std::string &oid,
 		     snapid_t snap_id, const std::string &snap_name);
     int snapshot_remove(librados::IoCtx *ioctx, const std::string &oid,
diff --git a/src/test/rbd/test_cls_rbd.cc b/src/test/rbd/test_cls_rbd.cc
index 3b246b82ac5..b9427758e4c 100644
--- a/src/test/rbd/test_cls_rbd.cc
+++ b/src/test/rbd/test_cls_rbd.cc
@@ -26,6 +26,9 @@ using ::librbd::cls_client::set_parent;
 using ::librbd::cls_client::remove_parent;
 using ::librbd::cls_client::snapshot_add;
 using ::librbd::cls_client::snapshot_remove;
+using ::librbd::cls_client::add_child;
+using ::librbd::cls_client::remove_child;
+using ::librbd::cls_client::get_children;
 using ::librbd::cls_client::get_snapcontext;
 using ::librbd::cls_client::snapshot_list;
 using ::librbd::cls_client::list_locks;
@@ -138,6 +141,50 @@ TEST(cls_rbd, get_and_set_id)
   ASSERT_EQ(0, destroy_one_pool_pp(pool_name, rados));
 }
 
+TEST(cls_rbd, add_remove_child)
+{
+  librados::Rados rados;
+  librados::IoCtx ioctx;
+  string pool_name = get_temp_pool_name();
+
+  ASSERT_EQ("", create_one_pool_pp(pool_name, rados));
+  ASSERT_EQ(0, rados.ioctx_create(pool_name.c_str(), ioctx));
+
+  string oid = "rbd_children_test";
+  ASSERT_EQ(0, ioctx.create(oid, true));
+
+  string parent_image = "parent_id";
+  string snapname = "parent_snap";
+  snapid_t snapid(10);
+  string child_image = "child_id";
+  uint64_t poolid = ioctx.get_id();
+  set<string>children;
+
+  // nonexistent children cannot be listed or removed
+  ASSERT_EQ(-ENOENT, get_children(&ioctx, oid, poolid, parent_image, snapid,
+	    children));
+  ASSERT_EQ(-ENOENT, remove_child(&ioctx, oid, poolid, parent_image, snapid,
+	    child_image));
+
+  // make a parent with a snapshot
+  ASSERT_EQ(0, create_image(&ioctx, parent_image, 2<<20, 0,
+			    RBD_FEATURE_LAYERING, parent_image));
+  ASSERT_EQ(0, snapshot_add(&ioctx, parent_image, snapid, snapname));
+
+  // add, verify it showed up
+  ASSERT_EQ(0, add_child(&ioctx, oid, poolid, parent_image, snapid,
+            child_image));
+  ASSERT_EQ(0, get_children(&ioctx, oid, poolid, parent_image, snapid,
+	    children));
+  bool found = (children.find(child_image) != children.end());
+  ASSERT_EQ(found, true);
+
+  ASSERT_EQ(0, remove_child(&ioctx, oid, poolid, parent_image, snapid,
+	    child_image));
+  ioctx.close();
+  ASSERT_EQ(0, destroy_one_pool_pp(pool_name, rados));
+}
+
 TEST(cls_rbd, directory_methods)
 {
   librados::Rados rados;