Currently it behaves like a text field so the user can type any way they like, and I think that's really bad to have it set up like it is. The very first online experience the user has with us is almost guaranteed to have a "you're doing it wrong" message, and they didn't know the correct format to begin with.

The field should be set up so that it only allows the MM/DD/XXXX entry, or at least it should state above or below the field - "enter in MM/DD/XXXX format"