In order to have a successful aliya, the first step is education. Know what you are getting into.
The second step is attitude. You really have to want to be here. A man I know tells everyone, “If you are not prepared to clean toilets for a living, don’t come.” Not everyone has to take that kind of a job, but it is a possibility. I started out here as a cleaning lady.
I came on my own, so I really can’t address the issues that a family would face, but just coincidentally, Friday night I ate by a couple who made aliya 20-some years ago. I don’t remember exactly what she said the ages of her kids were, but the youngest was 8 and the oldest was already here in yeshiva. She was told one of her daughters would have the most difficult time (the 12-year-old, maybe?), so she gave her a lot of extra attention. It turned out that she was the child who adapted to Israel the best. If I had to give advice to someone with children, I would say give them lots and lots of attention.