Source

File: wp-includes/taxonomy.php

function get_term_children( $term_id, $taxonomy ) {
	if ( ! taxonomy_exists( $taxonomy ) ) {
		return new WP_Error( 'invalid_taxonomy', __( 'Invalid taxonomy.' ) );
	}

	$term_id = intval( $term_id );

	$terms = _get_term_hierarchy( $taxonomy );

	if ( ! isset( $terms[ $term_id ] ) ) {
		return array();
	}

	$children = $terms[ $term_id ];

	foreach ( (array) $terms[ $term_id ] as $child ) {
		if ( $term_id === $child ) {
			continue;
		}

		if ( isset( $terms[ $child ] ) ) {
			$children = array_merge( $children, get_term_children( $child, $taxonomy ) );
		}
	}

	return $children;
}