//
//   Convert database date to something more user friendly
//
function userFriendlyDbDate($date){
   $time = strtotime($date);
   return date('d/m/Y H:i', $time);
}

... and the other way round, so converts to database date format...

//
//   Convert date to database date format
//
function dpDateToDbDate($date){
   $time = strtotime($date);
   return date('Y-m-d', $time);
}