Florida Mom Entertains Kids in Lockdown With Roomba Balloon Attack

A Florida mom came up with a clever way to entertain the kids during COVID-19 isolation at their home in Punta Gorda, using an AI robot vacuum cleaner with kitchen knives attached to burst balloons.

Video shared to Twitter by Kelli Shuttleworth on May 5 shows her husband, Todd, and kids Isla, Grant, and Emmet cheering with Kelli as the Roomba moves across the floor popping balloons tagged with the names of family members.

In keeping with an online trend, the footage was posted as part of the #quarantineolympics, which started trending after the 2020 Olympics was postponed. The trend features a range of online challenges that can be done while self-isolating, such as the #roombachallenge.

Speaking to Storyful, Shuttleworth said, “We had to lock up our dogs and cat and gave the kids strict instructions to keep their feet up off the floor!”

Shuttleworth said, “We have been having a lot of fun with balloons lately, trying to keep busy during quarantine! My favorite part of the video is when Grant scoops up his balloon at the end before it has a chance to be popped.”

The state of Florida had reported 41,235 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 1,827 deaths as of May 13. Credit: Kelli Shuttleworth via Storyful