PHP date validation with DateTime

validate_date.php

<?php

/**
 * Validates a date string and converts it to a DateTime object
 * Returns DateTime object on success, bool false on failure
 * @param string $date
 * @return DateTime|bool
 */
function validate_date($date)
{

	try
	{
		$dt = new DateTime($date);
		$temp_errors = DateTime::getLastErrors();

		# Ensures date errors like '2016-02-30' are also caught
		if ( !empty($temp_errors['warning_count']) )
		{
			throw new Exception();
		}

		return $dt;
	}
	catch ( Exception $e )
	{
		return false;
	}

}