diff --git a/core/includes/form.inc b/core/includes/form.inc
index df13fba..2388f11 100644
--- a/core/includes/form.inc
+++ b/core/includes/form.inc
@@ -4759,6 +4759,7 @@ function theme_form_element($variables) {
   // may not necessarily have been processed by form_builder().
   $element += array(
     '#title_display' => 'before',
+    '#parents' => array(),
   );
 
   $variables['errors'] = form_get_error($element);