"Children of a Lesser Clod" was written by Al Jean and directed by Michael Polcino. Jean initially had multiple different storylines including Homer getting hurt, before he eventually pitched them all into this episode. During production, the staff members looked for an actual NBA player to appear with a shotgun during the first act, but no player accepted the role. The line when Milhouse says he knows Bart's dad better than Bart knows him is a reference to based on a real-life experience of producer Mike Reiss. During production the animators needed Ralph to get off screen for a two shot so they decided that Ralph followed a butterfly.