A child's condition not being in line with the parent's expectations can cause mothers to experience pressures that can lead to them not parenting effectively. The condition of children with special needs in particular can cause some anxiety and pressure that may induce parenting stress. This research aims to understand the correlation between cognitive emotion regulation and parenting stress, as moderated by the need to belong. A quantitative approach was employed in this research, whose participants comprised 428 mothers of children with special needs. The data were collected using the Parenting Stress Index--Short Form, the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and the Need to Belong Scale. The data were then analyzed using the PROCESS Macro Analysis moderation method. The results reveal a significant negative correlation between cognitive emotion regulation and parenting stress ([beta]= -0.55; p=0.00), while the need to belong significantly weakened the relationship between cognitive emotion regulation and parenting stress ([beta]= -0.29; p=0.04).