diff --git a/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/response/GeoJSONResponseWriter.java b/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/response/GeoJSONResponseWriter.java
index 3b0959e7a2db..b88eaf924f6e 100644
--- a/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/response/GeoJSONResponseWriter.java
+++ b/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/response/GeoJSONResponseWriter.java
@@ -174,8 +174,8 @@ public void writeSolrDocument(String name, SolrDocument doc, ReturnFields return
         indent();
       }
       writeKey("_childDocuments_", true);
-      writeArrayOpener(doc.getChildDocumentCount());
       List<SolrDocument> childDocs = doc.getChildDocuments();
+      writeArrayOpener(childDocs.size());
       for (int i = 0; i < childDocs.size(); i++) {
         writeSolrDocument(null, childDocs.get(i), null, i);
       }
diff --git a/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/response/JSONWriter.java b/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/response/JSONWriter.java
index bad358b0f5fa..e9eb78c9a362 100644
--- a/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/response/JSONWriter.java
+++ b/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/response/JSONWriter.java
@@ -116,8 +116,8 @@ public void writeSolrDocument(String name, SolrDocument doc, ReturnFields return
         indent();
       }
       writeKey("_childDocuments_", true);
-      writeArrayOpener(doc.getChildDocumentCount());
       List<SolrDocument> childDocs = doc.getChildDocuments();
+      writeArrayOpener(childDocs.size());
       for (int i = 0; i < childDocs.size(); i++) {
         writeSolrDocument(null, childDocs.get(i), null, i);
       }
diff --git a/solr/core/src/test/org/apache/solr/search/join/TestCloudNestedDocsSort.java b/solr/core/src/test/org/apache/solr/search/join/TestCloudNestedDocsSort.java
index 9921394e1367..40f16748840f 100644
--- a/solr/core/src/test/org/apache/solr/search/join/TestCloudNestedDocsSort.java
+++ b/solr/core/src/test/org/apache/solr/search/join/TestCloudNestedDocsSort.java
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ public static void setupCluster() throws Exception {
             matchingChild = chVals.iterator().next();
           }
         }
-        maxDocs += parent.getChildDocumentCount() + 1;
+        maxDocs += (parent.hasChildDocuments() ? parent.getChildDocuments().size() : 0) + 1;
         docs.add(parent);
       }
       // don't add parents in increasing uniqueKey order
diff --git a/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/common/SolrDocument.java b/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/common/SolrDocument.java
index 53a152cfcd55..e363352fe6ab 100644
--- a/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/common/SolrDocument.java
+++ b/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/common/SolrDocument.java
@@ -482,11 +482,4 @@ public boolean hasChildDocuments() {
     boolean isEmpty = (_childDocuments == null || _childDocuments.isEmpty());
     return !isEmpty;
   }
-
-  @Override
-  @Deprecated
-  public int getChildDocumentCount() {
-    if (_childDocuments == null) return 0;
-    return _childDocuments.size();
-  }
 }
diff --git a/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/common/SolrDocumentBase.java b/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/common/SolrDocumentBase.java
index c3102d2a3bb9..59c4c0557e56 100644
--- a/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/common/SolrDocumentBase.java
+++ b/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/common/SolrDocumentBase.java
@@ -63,8 +63,4 @@ public abstract class SolrDocumentBase<T, K> implements Map<String, T>, Serializ
 
   /** Has <em>anonymous</em> children? */
   public abstract boolean hasChildDocuments();
-
-  /** The <em>anonymous</em> child document count. */
-  @Deprecated
-  public abstract int getChildDocumentCount();
 }
diff --git a/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/common/SolrInputDocument.java b/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/common/SolrInputDocument.java
index 4ae3f35eff55..505de256afe7 100644
--- a/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/common/SolrInputDocument.java
+++ b/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/common/SolrInputDocument.java
@@ -317,10 +317,4 @@ public boolean hasChildDocuments() {
     boolean isEmpty = (_childDocuments == null || _childDocuments.isEmpty());
     return !isEmpty;
   }
-
-  @Override
-  @Deprecated
-  public int getChildDocumentCount() {
-    return hasChildDocuments() ? _childDocuments.size() : 0;
-  }
 }
diff --git a/solr/solrj/src/test/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/embedded/SolrExampleStreamingBinaryHttp2Test.java b/solr/solrj/src/test/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/embedded/SolrExampleStreamingBinaryHttp2Test.java
index d735eac50038..439351c896b5 100644
--- a/solr/solrj/src/test/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/embedded/SolrExampleStreamingBinaryHttp2Test.java
+++ b/solr/solrj/src/test/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/embedded/SolrExampleStreamingBinaryHttp2Test.java
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ public void testQueryAndStreamResponse() throws Exception {
     QueryResponse response = client.query(query);
     assertEquals(1, response.getResults().size());
     SolrDocument parentDoc = response.getResults().get(0);
-    assertEquals(1, parentDoc.getChildDocumentCount());
+    assertEquals(1, parentDoc.getChildDocuments().size());
 
     // test streaming
     final List<SolrDocument> docs = new ArrayList<>();
@@ -97,6 +97,6 @@ public void streamDocListInfo(long numFound, long start, Float maxScore) {}
 
     assertEquals(1, docs.size());
     parentDoc = docs.get(0);
-    assertEquals(1, parentDoc.getChildDocumentCount());
+    assertEquals(1, parentDoc.getChildDocuments().size());
   }
 }
diff --git a/solr/solrj/src/test/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/embedded/SolrExampleStreamingBinaryTest.java b/solr/solrj/src/test/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/embedded/SolrExampleStreamingBinaryTest.java
index 32aa7164cd12..3e963505d9fe 100644
--- a/solr/solrj/src/test/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/embedded/SolrExampleStreamingBinaryTest.java
+++ b/solr/solrj/src/test/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/embedded/SolrExampleStreamingBinaryTest.java
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ public void testQueryAndStreamResponse() throws Exception {
     QueryResponse response = client.query(query);
     assertEquals(1, response.getResults().size());
     SolrDocument parentDoc = response.getResults().get(0);
-    assertEquals(1, parentDoc.getChildDocumentCount());
+    assertEquals(1, parentDoc.getChildDocuments().size());
 
     // test streaming
     final List<SolrDocument> docs = new ArrayList<>();
@@ -96,6 +96,6 @@ public void streamDocListInfo(long numFound, long start, Float maxScore) {}
 
     assertEquals(1, docs.size());
     parentDoc = docs.get(0);
-    assertEquals(1, parentDoc.getChildDocumentCount());
+    assertEquals(1, parentDoc.getChildDocuments().size());
   }
 }