>ngCloak shouldn't be a factor.
>
>ng-show expects a bool and 'BirthDate' returns a string although, since it appears that the label is showing, that's probably not the root of the problem.
>
>I'd suspect that having ' ng-model="currentData.birthDate" ' and ' data-date-change="birthDateChange" ' (which can also set 'currentData.birthDate) on the datepicker may be the problem - it could be causing multiple digest cycles.
>

The smDateTimePicker directive itself sets the model, etc. so perhaps this is also a factor. I think I'm going to live with that delay, it is not an end of the world.