For high traffic pieces any table top kitchen cabinets kids furniture i definitely recommend a top coat to provide the best protection to your painted furniture.
Top coat for latex painted cabinets.
I think you would want to try and sand off that latex paint give it one coat of the primer and then come back with your color in an oil based paint.
Cabinets for a 10 by 12 foot kitchen can easily top 5 000 and your new cabinets may actually be of lower quality than the ones you re replacing.
This will give your piece maximum hardness and durability.
To give painted furniture maximum protection top coat paint with 3 coats of clear coat.
Water based polyurethane is well suited for low sheen flat eggshell or satin latex paint.
Your best bet would be painting them with an oil based paint as the top finish paint as well.
For example my entertainment center does not have a top coat but the paint itself is an acrylic emulsion paint.
Polycrylic might help but probably not for long.
Polyurethane is a clear varnish that dries to a hard solid finish.
On the other hand a few fresh coats of paint can go a long way toward transforming your existing cabinets for a fraction of that price.
If you painted your cabinets with any of these paints apply a water based poly over the top to prolong the life of the finish.
How to use polyurethane over latex paint.
For almost all dark matte paints i like to use a poly or wax as well.