Life jackets at the beach?

We are going to Florida next week and our boys have never swam in the ocean. They’re 6 and almost 4. Both can swim independently in the pool, although the 4 year old is still pretty new to it and can only tread for around 30 seconds before he gets panicked. My husband and I grew up going to the beach and never wore life vests at any point.

My boys want to boogie board and actually swim in the waves so I’m thinking it’s a no brainer to have them in a jacket. I will most likely hold my 4 year old but I still get nervous if I’d lose hold of him at any point. I don’t know if my 6 year old could handle swimming without some sort of flotation.

Are there any cons to this?