diff --git a/lib/child_process.js b/lib/child_process.js
index 0a0ae920528..d46caae4b6a 100644
--- a/lib/child_process.js
+++ b/lib/child_process.js
@@ -102,7 +102,10 @@ function setupChannel(target, channel) {
       throw new TypeError('message cannot be undefined');
     }
 
-    if (!this.connected) throw new Error('channel closed');
+    if (!this.connected) {
+      this.emit('error', new Error('channel closed'));
+      return;
+    }
 
     // For overflow protection don't write if channel queue is too deep.
     if (channel.writeQueueSize > 1024 * 1024) {